RA 00048.pdf - OAR@ICRISAT

enters into new areas, plants demonstration plots
and organizes farmer field days. Farmers the
world over are shrewd and the most effective way
to convince them is by the factual field demonstration
of the superiority of the new product
against the variety or hybrid that they are already
growing. Once convinced they usually stick to that
brand and even convince their neighbors to use it.
Thus a seed company creates a more or less
permanent market.
For distribution of seed, the private seed
companies use the following chain on a commission
basis:
Distributor (wholesaler)
Subdistributor
Retailer
Farmer-dealer or
farmer service center
Area
Usually a whole state
or province or division.
Usually a district.
Usually a taluka or
block or group of
villages.
Usually 1-3 villages.
The retailer collects indents from each of the
farmer dealers and then passes them to the
subdistributor who in turn pools his requirement
and sends it to the distributor. The company
usually gets indents from all its distributors well
before the ensuing planting season. In many areas
the company often sells seed direct to the
farmers through its retail depots or in weekly
village markets. Usually all village farmers frequently
visit the village cigarette and soft drink
vendors. The Kenya Seed Company has efficiently
used them for retailing seed.
In those countries where the seed programs
are totally managed by public agencies, the
distribution is also mostly through established
government channels, such as block extension
centers or village cooperative societies. The extension
staff is responsible for convincing farmers
to use improved certified seed. Often seeds are
"sold" free or at subsidized prices.
In the countries where both the public sector
and private sector companies compete, the former
usually enjoys the benefits of direct or hidden
government subsidies. They have the additional
advantage of the free use of available government
distribution channels. Usually the private sector is
more effective wherever free and fair competition
is permitted to prevail. Since it relies heavily on its
brand image, it ensures that the seed sold meets
the highest standards of purity, it creates an
efficient after sales service system and is able to
attend quickly to all complaints and thus retain its
clientele. Above all it delegates authority for spot
decisions which often finalize the deals in their
favor.
Training Needs
Training is an important part of every seed
program. Planners, senior executive staff, supervisors
or technicians working at any level in a seed
program should be well trained to perform their
job responsibilities efficiently. Further, they
should keep abreast with new innovations in their
field to enable them to continuously improve their
performance.
The training needs of the market-oriented economy
may be different from those of the subsistence
level economy. Thus training programs
should be developed to suit the practical needs of
each country. While the training needs of the
technicians may be met through short courses of
3 - 4 weeks duration, or through in-service training,
the managerial and supervisory staff may
need specialized comprehensive training of 2 - 4
months duration. Seminars or workshops of 4 - 6
days duration may be adequate for planners and
senior executives.
Many international organizations have prepared
excellent material for such training courses. FAO/
SIDA and CIAT regularly organize training courses
for the benefit of seed programs of the developing
world. They have prepared excellent guidelines,
slides, film strips, etc., to make training programs
meaningful and effective.
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