For quality seeds, improve knowledge of organic farmers

TANZANIA: WHEREVER you go, the use of high-quality seeds is one of the most important elements in increasing agricultural production in any farming system.

This element has become more crucial than ever for providing enough food security for the rising number of people in the world, which is expected to exceed nine billion by year 2050. Selecting high yielding varieties adapted to the area of production, with disease, insect, lodging and shattering resistance, along with other desirable characteristics are basic keys for satisfactory crop performance and yield.

The production of high-quality seed is the cornerstone of any successful agriculture program. It is also a good marketing tool for increasing the potential sale of crops, especially in today’s competitive market.

Many people wonder what does seed quality mean?

The practical definition of seed quality can differ depending on the end user. For example, a farmer may desire high-quality seed that produces rapid uniform plants with high yielding capacity under a wide range of field conditions.

A producer of oil seed crop, where oil would be used for industrial purposes, such as making soap, cosmetic products or lubricants may desire seed with a particular stable fatty acid profile as a measure of high quality.

In general, the quality of seeds is measured in many ways, including genetic and physical purity, germination, vigour, uniformity in sizes, freedom from seedborne diseases and any other factors that may affect seed performance in the field.

In a nutshell, seed quality is important for successful agricultural production as it ensures genetic purity, physical purity and good physiological condition of the seed. Seed quality is crucial for improving crop yields as it determines genetic purity, freedom from diseases and overall productivity.

With this in mind, Tanzania, being a member of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) and deals specifically with plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA), deserves praise for promoting the conservation and sustainable use of all plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their use, in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity, for sustainable agriculture and food security.

Elaborating on the quality seeds and conservation, Tanzania Alliance for Biodiversity (TABIO) Coordinator Abdallah Ramadhani said that as an alliance of civil societies and private sector organisations concerned with agricultural-biodiversity, there is still a need to improve farmer knowledge on seed quality control and quality assurance as an integrated part of crop production.

He added: “However, the knowledge is uneven, diverse and not well documented for access with farmers in the current and future generation. Here, our initiative started wayback in 2013 when the inventory of local seeds in Mtwara was carried out. It was followed by another study on farmer managed seed system in Tanzania in 2015.

The study looked into the operation, benefits, successes, challenges and support the farmer managed seed system. Thereafter, trainings and production of information materials on quality control and assurance has continued to date.

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That came with the knowledge that majority of seeds used by smallholder farmers are on farms and stored. This calls for more emphasis for farmers to observe quality control and quality assurance especially when they share with other farmers who are not their neighbours.” According to him, quality controls are the practical methods through which the grower ensures seed quality across a range of measures. In farmer seed systems these include diverse and effective farmer practices, which are not recognised in the formal system. Smallholder farmers in different parts of the country also grow both food and cash crops and most of their food crops are grown using farm ‘saved seeds’ which are diverse, reliable and accessible.

This was testified by the National Agricultural Census of 2019/2020 noting that despite the government’s efforts to promote the use of improved seeds, more than 76 per cent of the total cultivated area (13.8 million hectares) was planted with farm saved seeds and only 20 per cent of improved seeds while 2.5 per cent was with farm saved and improved seeds.

Huge land cultivated with farm saved seed which eventually makes our nation food secure, made the organisation to document the quality control and quality assurance process in the seed system. Quality seed is among the most important parameter that farmer consider in crop production.

This is because quality seed leads into good yield if other parameters are held constant. Bad quality seeds on the other hand will lead to low germination potential and affect the entire crop production value chain and therefore discourage farmers from using them. In order to make sure that farmers have access to quality seed stored and saved on farm, TABIO trained smallholder farmers in Masasi, Nanyumbu and Mtwara rural on seed system quality assurance.

TABIO also, consulted other farmers groups in Ifakara-Kilombero, Igunga, Chunya and Karatu to find out on how they deal with quality assurance for the seed they select for planting in the next season. Interaction with farmers revealed that quality assurance though not properly documented is part and parcel of their practice upon seed selection.

They do consider the following

Physical characteristics of seeds: This is the first and foremost step that farmers check upon seed selection as to whether it is good or not. Farmers use their senses of seeing, touching and feeling to determine the quality of the seed. At this stage farmer look at: –

(i) size of the seeds (width), (ii) their length (how long), (iii) their weight (if too light they could be empty or full of chaff), (iv) their shape (comparing them to what is desired and what they think it should be), (v) surface texture (mostly of the coat, if is it coarse or smooth, cracked or wrinkled), (vi) colour (if the seeds are of the desired colour), (vii) has it be affected by too much moisture or exposed to too little sunlight (if it’s affected by moisture it could be mouldy and even smell badly).

Therefore, farmers test seeds for moisture content by attempting to crack them with their front teeth since most of them do not own simple moisture meters. A very dry seed is usually harder to crack and also produce sharp sound, which means that it is probably having lower than the required 10-12 percent moisture content.

Another simple method is to shake a sample of seed with dry salt in a clean dry glass jar for several minutes. If the salt sticks to the sides of the glass jar, it means the grain moisture content is above the safe moisture content level. If the jar surface is clear of salt, it means the grain is dry enough to be put in storage.

Therefore, from physical examination it is possible for farmers to see and confirm that seeds are free of contamination and from contaminants such as weed seeds, other variety of seeds, inert material which are usually not of plant origin such as plastics, papers, metal and so on. It is also possible to identify damaged seeds and seeds that are completely off size (this could mean that they are not fully formed hence are too small in size or that they are just too large).

Smallholder farmers in Igunga and Momba districts shared their experience on selecting quality seed based on their physical characteristics which they do in three phases. In the first phase, selection is done in the farm by identifying a section of the farm from which seeds will be harvested. In this section off-types are uprooted from the farm.

The main reason for such selection is to ensure that the remaining paddy is uniform and of the same variety. This is done continuously until the paddy matures for harvest. Farmers reported that lack of selection at this stage leads to a mixture of varieties of seeds, a problem which cannot be solved outside the farm after harvesting.

Once sorting in the field is completed and paddy is ready for harvest, the section selected for seeds is harvested first carefully with sharp knife threshed gently to avoid damaging the seed and winnowed. Smallholder farmers in Karatu have over 50 varieties of beans including Gogodmay, Sikay, Qaqar as selecteds seed based on their yield potential and leafy characteristics.

They do not select varieties that are bushy in nature as they compromise pod production. Once beans are harvested and stored, straws are removed, they are stored in tins and gunny bags with wood ash or powder obtained from medicinal plants to prevent insect pests’ damage. ii. Physiological Characteristics of seeds: Farmers look for seeds that have a good history of germination. Germination tests are unlikely to be widely practiced, since the seed is generally known and there are not always alternatives to using the seed. Farmers make observation of the planted seed and their performance in the field. iii. Seed health: Seeds are biological so they can be affected by diseases which may be caused by microorganisms such as bacterial, fungi and viruses or caused by other organisms such as pests.

Farmers always select seeds which have not been damaged by pests and also examine for those which are free from mould. Unlike physical examination except for mould, it is not always very easy for small scale farmers or subsistent farmers to spot these when they examine seeds because most of them are invisible to the naked eyes (microscopic). iv. Organoleptic, aromatic and other characteristics: Farmers in Karatu, Mbozi and Ileje districts select maize seed from the cobs that are known to be delicious and sweet upon roasting. Also, they select those which have a good milling ability i.e. their grains do not break easily upon milling and the flour is heavy and mould properly when cooked.

As for rice, farmers in Momba, Igunga, Ifakara and Mtwara Rural consider selecting varieties which are aromatic e.g. Shingo ya Mwali, Tule na Bwana and Ntalima Wangu which are aromatic and can be smelled from a distant during cooking. Smallholder farmers in Karatu district select beans which are known to be tasty, fast cooking with sticky gravy (rojo in Kiswahili). Farmers avoid beans which are known to produce excessive gas when eaten.