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Sifelani Tsiko Agric, Environment & Innovations Editor

Plant breeders must develop high yielding and resilient traditional grain hybrids to enhance the livelihoods of farmers and the country’s food security position, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement permanent secretary Dr John Basera said yesterday.

In a speech read on his behalf by Dr Dumisani Kutywayo at the Zimbabwe Plant Breeders Association annual symposium, he said new indigenous grain varieties had the potential to improve farmer earnings and contribute to national food security. “Productivity for the traditional grains remains low. I challenge the breeders to develop high yielding and resilient hybrids to address the low productivity to increase farmer incomes and national production,” he said.

The call came at a time when there is growing concern over the absence of high yielding traditional grain varieties in the country leading to poor adoption of traditional grains as an adaption strategy to deal with climate change.

Negative attitudes still remain one of the biggest barriers to the adoption of traditional grains in drought-prone parts of the country, despite an aggressive campaign by the Government encouraging smallholder farmers to diversify or completely adopt traditional grains which can cope better with dry weather conditions. Most farmers still plant maize which is not suitable to these conditions.

“Developing varieties with good adaptability will give very good returns for investments not only in Zimbabwe, but in Africa at large,” Dr Basera said.

“Development of resilient varieties provides an opportunity for the private sector and the country to earn foreign currency hence contributing to national economic resilience.”

Erratic weather patterns in recent years have led to a growing push to promote traditional grains which can adapt to arid conditions. Farmers say harvesting of traditional grains is cumbersome and labour intensive. They need specialised farm machinery for processing the harvest to help increase the uptake of traditional grains.

Experts also say the lack of incentives, subsidies, storage facilities and effective transport arrangements also discouraged farmers from adopting these drought-resistant cereal varieties.

Traditional grains hectarage increased marginally from 380 000ha in 2020 to approximately 390 000ha in 2021 on the back of increased input support schemes, deliberate efforts to commercialise these grains and better rainfall.

Traditional grains are indigenous to Africa and were domesticated as agriculture spread across the continent.

They are thus adapted to African climate conditions. They were the staple food for all Zimbabwean communities right up to the 1920s with maize, introduced a few centuries earlier from central America largely along Portuguese trade routes, was largely treated as a vegetable, roasted as it was harvested.

Research on maize produced better yields, and maize has the advantage that preparation is simply drying and grinding the grain while the traditional grains need to be cooked first, then pounded and then cooked again. More modern processing equipment has allowed these grains to be ground and cooked in a single step, making them about as convenient as maize.

The Zimbabwe Plant Breeders Association symposium sought to explore ways to develop new crop varieties to enhance the country’s food security. Plant breeders play a critical role in the development of new crop varieties that aim to enhance food security and address climate change risks.

The symposium brought together plant breeders, scientists, students, propagators, government agencies, brand and patenting experts as well as private sector seed players.

Experts connected face to face and shared information to get new crop varieties into the country’s agricultural sector.

The symposium also provided budding and well-practiced plant breeders the opportunity to learn from other experts and peers in the field.

Read the original article on The Herald.