Wazalishaji mbegu bora (Breeders of good seed)

Zanobia Seeds, run by four Tanzanian brothers, sits in a valley 1500 meters below the jagged, forested hills of the Great Rift Wall. The area is isolated and suffers from periods of dry weather and inconsistent rainfall. Yet, here, Rajinder Singh Mand and his three brothers produce improved varieties of maize, beans, pigeonpea, sunflower, rice, banana, sesame seeds, lentils, yellow gram, wheat, finger millet and sorghum. Most of their customers are smallholder farmers, and, with the support of AGRA, they aim to produce quality seeds for Tanzanian farmers at prices they can afford.

One day in early April 2009, a group of African seed company entrepreneurs visited Zanobia Seeds, about 140 km southwest of Arusha. Rajindir, a Tanzanian man of Indian descent, stands tall amongst rows upon rows of slender, green-leafed plants that color the landscape as far as the eye can see.  He explains their work and goals.

“I’d like to leave my mark on this world. AGRA’s work is noble and I feel lucky to be part of this effort to bring a green revolution to Africa,” Rajinder says. “Instead of us going around begging for food, maybe one day we’ll be sending our rice to America.”

The brothers have big plans over the next few years. Zanobia is working with a local research station and AGRA to, test, and multiply the first locally-adapted maize hybrid for the Manyara region of Tanzania. They are also producing a high-yielding variety of pigeonpea, one of the regions food staples.

Pigeonpea – untapped potential

Maize and pigeonpea are the two most important crops in this region of Tanzania. Pigeonpea – largely considered an orphan crop because neither the public nor private sector has invested much in research to improve yield – is nonetheless valued as  a drought-resistant crop high in protein and ideal for farmers in dry areas. There is also a multi-million dollar export market for the crop in India, other Asian countries, and Europe.

Several years ago, Zanobia received a rare high-yielding white pigeonpea variety from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). The company released the variety as Mali to reflect its country of origin. The brothers are very excited about the possibilities this has opened up: from export earnings to helping local farmers increase their yield and incomes.

Since 2000, Rajinder has had a direct connection with buyers in Europe, thanks to his work with Technoserve, a nonprofit business and economic development organization. That year he exported his first seed crop ever – 40 metric tons of Mali – followed by 300 tons in 2001 as well as an additional 600 tons sold to exporters in Dar es Salaam.

Some  250 small-scale farmers, most of whom are women, contract with Zanobia to grow the improved seed.  The company also hires more than 150 women to work full-time over four months to hand-pick and sort export-quality pigeonpea.

Because many of the smallholder farmers in the region cannot afford to buy new seed, Zanobia, has initiated a scheme that encourages local farmers to trade in a portion of their harvest for improved pigeonpea seed. For the farmers, the result has been better harvests each season and increased income because they now produce enough to sell some of their harvest.

In 2009, Zanobia will set aside 60 acres for multiplication and distribution of Mali for local farmers at affordable prices.
“Many of the hopes for an African Green Revolution lie with the success of companies like Zanobia”, says Joseph DeVries, Director of AGRA’s Programme for Africa’s Seed Systems (PASS). “A robust private seed sector would help ensure that improved varieties developed by agricultural research institutes get into the hands of farmers.”