Story by Tendai Munengwa
LOCAL seed breeders have taken note of the government’s initiative to promote climate-smart seed production with a domestic company shifting its focus to developing both improved maize varieties and traditional grains seed banks.
The local industry is fully mobilised, with companies leaving no stone unturned in their drive to boost productivity in line with the government’s vision to industrialise the nation and achieve upper-middle-income status by 2030.
During a visit to a seed production facility in Harare on Monday, workers were observed busy packing wheat seed destined for distribution to farmers under the Presidential Input Scheme.
“Despite what is being reported in other places, our workforce is full-time at work. We have a national duty to fulfil and we are packing 60 tonnes a day so we promise that we are ready to give farmers wheat seed on time,” Zadzamatura Seed house plant manager, Tonderai Masuku said.
With traditional grains proving to be a food security-winning formula in the face of climate change, the company has intensified efforts to build sustainable climate-smart seed banks.
“We have embraced the government’s policy to ensure that we come up with drought-resistant seed varieties. So we have taken into consideration that our traditional grains have turned out to be a sustainable way to deal with climate changes. We have intensified the production of all traditional grain seeds, building a reliable seed bank so that we play our part towards food security,” Zadzamatura Seed house field manager, Talent Ndige.
The country is poised for a bumper harvest following the good rains received this season, and the local industry is burning midnight oil to ensure national development.
