By KENNEDY MUPESENI? –

SEED-CO Zambia has introduced a new polythene packaging brand to prevent maize seed counterfeiting which is reportedly rampant in the treated seed business.
Company marketing manager Brian Mhango said in an interview at the just-ended 2015 Agritech Expo in Chisamba, that Seed-Co had again rebranded seed packaging to discourage imitators.
“The issue of faking seeds is critical in as far as our business is concerned, most farmers especially small-scale farmers are duped into buying untreated maize seeds using established company brands,” Mr Mhango said at Seed-Co demonstration plot.
The newly-introduced polythene packaging brand would be costly to imitate thereby discouraging imitators of the company’s treated seeds.
He said low disposable income that characterise small-scale farmers swell them into buying fake or use of recycled seeds which he said affect crop yields.
Mr Mhango said his company would continue sensitising farmers on how to differentiate between fake seed and genuine ones.
The company would continue using extension staff dotted across the country to encourage farmers to embrace good farming practices which would give them high yields.?“We provide our customers and potential customers free extension services and we will continue doing that. Recently our agronomy department came up with SC647 medium maturing variety which can produce 13 tonnes per hectare,” he said.
Farmers should take advantage of the maize seed variety to increase their yields and get value for their produce.
He said there was need for farmers to embrace good agronomic practices to increase yields.
On average smallholder farmers produce 1.5 to three tonnes but the yield for large scale farmers ranges from eight to 10 tonnes per hectare.