24 Nov 2020

Assistant Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security Ms Beauty Manake says efforts have been made to produce hybrid seeds in Botswana in the 2018/2019 season by one seed company.

Ms Manake told Parliament that for the past two seasons, the company produced total maize hybrid seed amounting to 150 metric tonnes at P21 per kilogram of a seed while the seed was sold at P31.50 per kilogram. 

She, however, noted that most of the country’s small scale grain/food production could be considered organic as there was low or no application of chemical fertilizers and usage of pesticides.

The assistant minister also highlighted both the advantages and disadvantages of hybrid seed, Open Pollinated Variety (OPV) seed and organic seed. She said hybrids and OPV could be produced in an organic system and the resulting seed classified as organic. 

She noted that hybrid seed production matured fast with high yielding possibilities, highly effective at specified localities with the ability to produce side shoots that mature into full plants.

However, she said there were some disadvantages that included the seed being planted once leading to procurement cost every year. He said the other shortcoming with hybrid seed was the expensive seeds material, high management needs and high inputs demand. 

Ms Manake thus said OPVs could be replanted, were cheaper to obtain and allowed the farmer to produce and store own seeds. She said disadvantages included that open-pollinated seeds yielded lower yields, slow maturity and low tillering sorghums ability. 

Member of Parliament for Bobonong, Mr Taolo Lucas had asked the minister to state efforts made to produce organic seeds in Botswana. 

He also wanted to know the advantages and disadvantages of using hybrid seeds as opposed to organic seeds as well as the quantities and cost of hybrid seeds procured outside the country and the quantities and value of hybrid seeds produced locally in the last three years. ends