Improved capacity for affordable quality seed production and utilization in the Zambezi Valley

Project title: Improved capacity for affordable quality seed production and utilization in the Zambezi Valley

Project number: NICHE-MOZ-230

Requesting Organisation: ADVZ Tete Office (head office)

Requesting organisation consortium partners: Agrarian Institute Chimoio; Agrarian Institute Mocuba; Agrarian Professional School Caia; Agrarian School Chidzolomondo; Faculty Agrarian SciencesUnizambeze; Faculty Agro and Forest-Engineering, Unizambeze;Higher Polytechnic Institute Manica;Instituto Superior Politecnico de Manica

Project description:

This project aims to enhance integrated seed sector development through education, training and action-research. This will contribute to inclusive economic growth and food and nutrition security.

At the end of the project the requesting organisations will have the academic and organisational capacity to develop, implement and maintain innovative gender-sensitive educational and action- research agribusiness programmes focused on the seed value chain.

The participating institutions will:

promote and disseminate new inspection and certification processes;

introduce business and extension services that respond to the demands of the labour market and/or generate self-employment in the agribusiness sector in the Zambezi Valley;

establish partnerships with the private sector for input and output supplies in the seed value chains.

Beneficiaries

This project will indirectly benefit seed producers, (women) smallholder farmers, students and other stakeholders of the agribusiness and seed sector value chain in the Zambezi region and beyond.

Zambezi Valley

The Zambezi Valley, in the Central Region of Mozambique, has four provinces and is home to 43% of the Mozambican population. There is a lot of poverty despite extremely rich natural resources. Most agricultural producers are (women) smallholder subsistence farmers who grow traditional cereals, cassava and sweet potato.

These farmers face several challenges which limit their productivity and harvests, primarily the timely supply of sufficient good-quality certified seeds. In fact, more than 90% of smallholder farmers depend on their own farm-saved seeds or on seeds obtained on the informal market.