| Abstract: | A major preoccupation of agricultural policy makers in the 1970s has been how to obtain maximum benefit from new high-yielding seeds. ‘Tailored packages’ have been developed to suit conditions in different countries, specialized training has been arranged for farmers to help them cope with the techniques needed for the new seeds, and banks, at least in some countries, have extended their activities deeper into the rural areas. Some attempts have also been made to avoid the ‘freezing out’ of small farmers for whom the new seeds, with their demands for precise applications of water and fertilizers, were likely to be a risky business. The emphasis has been on increased output. Less effort has gone into programmes designed to deal with a problem that the high-yielding strains create once they have been grown and harvested — an increase in post-harvest losses. Estimates suggest that between 20% and 40% of the grain produced in developing countries each year ends up nourishing insects, rodents and birds or is otherwise spoiled by fungi. The food lost in Africa alone each year could feed 55 million people. India loses sufficient grain to feed 50 million people a year.The high-yielding varieties of seeds are even more susceptible to loss than traditional seeds because they cannot be kept securely in traditional storage facilities. A good example of this problem — as well as an innovation which is attracting attention from many other countries — is in Zambia where maize is the staple crop. |
