A Review of the Evidence - Search CIMMYT repository

In a survey carried out in 1995 among 150 households in northern Zimbabwe, 15% of therespondents reported using seed saved from their own production. Often this seed is used insmall garden plots, late-planted fields, or re-planted fields (Chikwati and Mariga, quoted inWaddington et al., 1997).Maize seed procurement practices in India were documented through a 1995-96 surveyconducted in six important maize-producing states (Singh and Morris, 1997). Among farmersgrowing MVs, 45% reported having bought their seed from a private trader, and anadditional 13% said they had bought their seed from a government agency (Table 5). Only38% reported having used recycled seed saved from their own production, and a minuscule4% indicated that they had acquired seed from other farmers. In states where maize iscommercially produced, more than three-quarters of farmers purchase their seed fromoutside sources, usually private traders. In states where maize is grown primarily for homeconsumption, two-thirds of farmers save their seed from last season’s harvest.In summary, these studies suggest that subsistence-oriented farmers tend to use recycled seedsaved from their own harvest, acquired from other farmers, or purchased in local grainmarkets—although on occasion they may also resort to the formal seed sector. In contrast,commercial farmers tend to replace their maize seed on a regular basis, buying commercialseed from local input distributors or from government seed agencies.Seed recyclingWhile it is hardly surprising to find that seed recycling is common, especially in manydeveloping countries in which farmers lack access to reliable sources of commercial seed,what is unexpected is to discover that seed recycling apparently extends in many cases tohybrids. Mainly because of the phenomenon of inbreeding depression, progeny of F1 hybridstend to underperform their parents. For this reason, hybrid seed is generally sold with therecommendation that it not be recycled.In recent years as maize hybrids have gradually spread throughout many regions of thedeveloping world, evidence has begun to accumulate that some farmers are choosing toignore the recommendation that hybrid seed be replaced at each planting. Instead ofpurchasing fresh seed for each new cropping cycle, these farmers plant advanced-generationTable 5. Sources of maize seed, selected states, India (% of seed)13Maize seed procured from:State Own harvest Other farmers Private trader Government agencyAndhra Pradesh 8 1 84 7Bihar 15 2 77 6Karnataka 5 1 73 20Madhya Pradesh 64 3 14 19Rajasthan 69 6 13 12Uttar Pradesh 67 10 9 14Total 38 4 45 13Source: Singh and Morris (1997).