You reap what you sow,” a man who was buying seeds at container village was heard muttering. This is quite an old saying. However, for easier interpretation, you cannot sow oranges and harvest mangoes.

If you sow poor quality seeds, you certainly will have a poor harvest. “I am going to plant this one seed and try to multiply it into more good seeds,” he said. This man’s action only shows how important a good seed is to a farmer.

And yet, the good seed still eludes the average Ugandan farmer. According to statistics from various groups including the Ministry of Agriculture (MAAIF) and the Uganda Seed Traders Association, only 20% of farmers in Uganda access improved seeds every season. The sector has been dogged by at least 30-40% fake or adulterated seeds.

“The seed is the base of any successful agriculture venture,” Paul Mwambu, the commissioner of crop inspection, and certification in MAAIF. “A good seed increases yields by over 50%, other factors remaining constant, just like a poor seed lowers production by over 50%,” he said.

Mwambu made the remarks while officiating at a function where the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) signed a memorandum of understanding with seventeen seed breeders recently.

Asea (right) signing memorandum of understanding with Narcis Tumushabe, the chairperson, Uganda Seed Traders Association

EVOLUTION OF SECTOR
Even when many of the current crops were introduced by colonialists in Uganda, for example, maize in the 1880s, seeds were generally multiplied through farmer to farmer initiatives under a system that was largely informal.

At the time Uganda got independence, there was in place a largely informal seeds system. According to the Uganda Seed Traders Association, before 1968, the seed sector in Uganda was informal but the government later started a seed scheme in the Ministry of Agriculture, fully owned and operated by the Government.

The organised seed industry in Uganda is fairly old because it started in the 1960s, although it was disrupted by the turbulent times of the 1970s and early 1980s. Emmanuel Gareeba, a retired seeds researcher, agrees saying:

“The formal seed sector was started by the government in the late 60s through national seed multiplication schemes using the technologies produced by the research unit within the Ministry of Agriculture.”

This led to the establishment of Uganda Seed Project in 1982 which was eventually converted into Uganda Seed Limited (USL), a government company. Gareeba, who has since retired into private service says USL gained ground in 1990 with funding from the Government of German and African Development Bank. In the 1990s, the seed sector was liberalised giving way to private seed companies.

The private sector has steadily increased annual seed production since 1991 to date. “Liberalisation of the seed industry in the 1990s led to the emergency of the private sector without guidance in Uganda,” Gareeba says.

Mwambu (right) handing a certificate to Rodeyns Nikolai from NASECO

STATE OF SEED SECTOR
The seed sector is divided into two main categories. One is the formal sector and the other is the informal sector. The informal sector accounts for 80% while the formal sector accounts for just 20%. The informal sector is the system where farmers grow their own seed.

They mainly save the seed from the last harvest. The practice is that a farmer selects what he sees as the best seeds from the harvest and keeps them for the next planting season. On the other hand, the formal sector produces the improved seeds that are sold on the market.

According to records at the Uganda Seed Traders Association (USTA) the formal sector is dominated by over 35 registered companies. However, according to the law, these companies have got to renew their licenses every year after meeting several stringent criteria. As of 2019, these seed companies produced around 19,000MT of seeds, which is about 20% of the total national seed requirements.

There are about 2,300 registered dealers who sell seeds multiplied by the seed companies. As of 2019, the country required at least 130,580MT of seeds for grain crops and 350,625,000 suckers for bananas.

The volumes have been increasing thanks to demands by the National Agriculture Advisory Services (NARO) and the Operation Wealth Creation programme. This indicates a big deficit.

COMMERCIALISATION
In order to improve good seed distribution, NARO, the mother of most seeds is now commercialising some of the seeds that they produce. This means that they are now directly selling seeds to farmers.

“Previously, the mandate was for us to produce a mother seed and give it to seed companies to multiply and sell it to farmers. But we have seen lapses in the system and this is why we are commercialising now,” Godfrey Asea, the director of the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NacRRI) says. Currently, NARO is constructing a seed processing plant in Masindi, to cater to this need. “This plant will go a long way in producing early generation seed, certify seed of usual crops but also those termed as orphans that are not considered by seed companies like simsim, sorghum, millet, among others,” Godfrey Asea said.

Asea says the plant will also carry out seed testing for seed diseases like the Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN) disease which is a combination of two viruses that spread through seed and attacks mainly maize causing up to 100% yield loss.

“We look forward to this facility being functional, which will be a big step from NARO to strengthen the seed industry in Uganda and also support seed companies through the provision of early generation or foundation for and training of those handling seeds,” he said.

To the farmer, there will be an increase in seed volumes because the plant has training facilities and a resource centre that will carry out training sessions with seed companies to maintain quality, he added.

NARO SIGNS MOU
In a move to improve the quality, quantity, and accessibility of seeds in the country, the National Agriculture Research Organisation (NARO) has certified 17 companies to breed and commercialise NARO seeds in the country.

The signing of the memorandum of understanding and the awarding of certificates took place at NARO, Kawanda on September 27. “This is a fundamental step in the improvement of the distribution of quality seeds to the farmers who need it in this country,” Paul Mwambu, the commissioner of crop Inspection and Certification says.

NARO carries out research on seeds then passes them to the formal sector commercial seed breeders who produce them before selling to farmers. The formal sector produces the improved seeds that are sold on the market. According to records at the Uganda Seed Traders Association (USTA) the formal sector is dominated by over 35 companies.

Out of these, NARO has certified 17 companies and of these 15 are members of USTA. The seeds include cereals such as maize. There is also soya, millet, sorghum, cassava, sweet potatoes .

“This is a big step in the improvement of the seeds sector. We have been working with NARO for many years but the signing and certification process makes our practices clearer because it will now be easy for us to identify genuine and fake seeds dealers,” Narcis Tumushabe, the chairperson Uganda Seeds Traders Association says.

However, according to the law, these companies have got to renew their licenses every year after meeting several stringent criteria. As of 2019, these seed companies produced around 18,000MT of seeds, which is about 20% of the total national seed requirements. There are about 2,300 registered dealers who sell the seed multiplied by the certified companies.

BREEDING
Most of the improved seeds go through National Agriculture Research Organisation (NARO). “After researching and confirming that a given seed will work, it is passed over to seed multiplying companies that then commercialise it,” Tumushabe says.

This is why, many of the companies make use of that provide access to improved varieties, basic seed, and quality control services, but capacities in delivering these public services are limited, which in turn limits growth and professionalism in the sector. It is through this system that current lines of seed varieties like maize has been grown over the years.

According to NARO/National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI), the Government are responsible for researching seeds, the first hybrid seeds came to Uganda in the 1960s, however, serious breeding started in the early 1970s. The agricultural research institutes had been set up in the 1940s or much earlier, in places such as Kawanda, Kituuza, Ngetta and Kakchwekano, among others.

It is through these that production of good seeds started. For example Kawanda Research Station (then) released the first improved variety called White star was released in 1972, followed by Western Queen and Kawanda composite in the 1980s. Production of the famous Longe varieties started in 1990.

“For maize, the most famous breed has been the Longe series1 to Longe10H, whose breeding started in the 1990s to date,” says an official at NaCRRI. Since then, there have been lines/varieties for all major crops including beans, sorghum, millet, and cassava, among others, that have come through these research institutions. However, the biggest challenge has been adulterated seeds, where at least 30% of improved seeds on the market are fake