Professor Obert Jiri, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development
BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development, Professor Obert Jiri has warned fake seed dealers, describing them as “agro-terrorists”, saying that their activities threaten the country’s agricultural productivity and food security.
Professor Jiri said in such cases, farmers are left counting huge losses after investing in fake seeds; further calling for stiffer penalties for those responsible.
He said this on Tuesday at the Seed Co Wheat Field Day where the SC W9104 white flour wheat variety, was being showcased at Rattray Arnold Research Station along Shamva Road.
Professor Jiri said the breeding cycle for conventional breeding is at least seven years, hence there’s need to support local seed houses, who are still leading in terms of the seed science and preserving the country’s seed sector.
“…(if we don’t support them) we are shooting ourselves in the foot. If they lose it, we lose our food security, because food security can only follow after seed security.
“You can only plant or you can only get the desired variety when we get the correct seed.
“Destroy the seed, you destroy the industry. To preserve this food industry we need, they need to see business when our farmers buy local.
“People should not buy seed from foreign seed houses.
“We don’t want alien seed,” Prof Jiri said to a round of applause.
He said even when farmers have made money, should not buy alien seed or fertilizers, they should support the local industry.
“Infact the fastest way to destroy a country is for that country to be invaded by terrorists; we don’t want agro terrorists bringing alien seeds into our country, so chero manakirwa sei, musativigira terrorism to our agriculture, tengai seed yemuno, fertilizer yemuno, yatinoziva kuti iyi, isweat of our people.
“So no to agro terrorism, pasi ne fake seed, that’s why we applaud these (local) seed houses, when they produce seed of quality required by our millers and our local industry.
“We applaud them and we implore you to support them, by ensuring that where you see fake and alien seed, take it personal.”
He added that whilst there are stiffer penalties for stock theft, there should also be much more (stiffer penalties) for fake seed dealers.
Prof Jiri said the sale of fake seeds disguised as genuine products, must be stopped forthwith to protect farmers from losses.
“Aah pasi ne fake seed, pasi ne fake seed,” he chanted as the crowd chanted back.
Prof Jiri speaks on agro terrorism
He said farmers who use fake seeds risk making losses, with the damage only being realised when it is too late.
“Imagine that kind of terrorism, munhu we fake seed haa deserve nine years (in prison), they deserve more than nine years.”
He emphasized that a farmer who invests in his production using fake seed, will “fall from hero to zero, just because of a terrorist, auya ne fake seed and sold it as genuine, I rest my case.”
But Prof Jiri was yet to be done, as he revealed that the country needs to be seed secure and not rely on its neighbours for good seed.
“Believe you me, Zimbabwe is the cradle of the seed industry, not only in Africa but in the world, our systems are good.
“We are still genuinely producing good seed in this country and that, we must protect,” he said.
Prof Jiri’s call comes amid reports of unscrupulous dealers taking advantage of unsuspecting farmers by selling fake seed, with the extent of the losses often only becoming evident when the crop fails to perform as expected.
