VALLEY Seed Company has ramped up production as it gears for the upcoming farming season, with 80% of maize seed varieties already in storage.
This emerged during a media tour on Tuesday where company officials assured farmers of adequate supply of drought-tolerant seed for the upcoming summer cropping season to boost agricultural productivity.
Valley Seeds business director Tich Maponga said the company was managing seeds and maintaining quality control to enhance food security.
“Valley Seed Company is well-prepared to meet demand and deliver high-quality seeds to farmers,” Maponga said.
“In terms of maize, almost all of it has been brought in; about 80% of our maize seed is already in storage.
“What’s left are the traditional grains, which are still trickling in due to the nature of their harvesting process.”
“Traditional grains are usually not harvested by machinery, especially given the type of farmers we’re working with. Most of it is hand-harvested.”
Valley Seeds is the main supplier of inputs to farmers under the government-funded Pfumvudza programme.
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Government introduced the Pfumvudza/Intwasa programme in a bid to climate-proofing agriculture.
Pfumvudza is a concept aimed at adopting conservation farming techniques and involves the utilisation of small pieces of land, while applying the correct agronomic technics for high returns.
Maponga said the company worked closely with contract growers to ensure quality standards were met from planting to harvesting.
“The company’s harvesting and collection process is well-organised, ensuring high-quality seeds,” he said.
“A dedicated team, including quality control managers, monitors the process to guarantee top-quality seeds.”
In recent years, the market has been flooded with counterfeit seeds ahead of the farming season with unsuspecting farmers losing millions of dollars to unscrupulous dealers.
Fake seeds, often packaged to resemble genuine products, result in poor crop yields, reduced quality and significant financial losses.
