From: EcoNet Pesticide Issue Desk <[email-masked]>
Date: 25 May 94 17:04 PDT

Reply to: "Conference panna.panups" <[email-masked]>
To: "Recipients of conference panna.panups" <[email-masked]>
Newsgroups: panna.panups
Subject: PANUPS: Biodiversity in Zimbabwe

From: EcoNet Pesticide Issue Desk <pestdesk>

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  PESTICIDE ACTION NETWORK NORTH AMERICA UPDATES SERVICE
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Zimbabwean Farmers Act to Protect Biodiversity

May 20, 1994

Ninety percent of all farmers in Zimbabwe use hybrid maize 
seeds, which are aggressively marketed by multi-national seed 
companies including Pioneer (USA) and Pannar (South Africa).  
Although farmers use these seeds hoping to grow surplus crops 
and earn extra cash, modern hybrids can limit plant genetic 
diversity, damage the local ecology and undermine household 
food security, according to Arthur Chaguma of ENDA, a Zimbabwe 
NGO. 

To address these problems, ENDA (Environnement et Developpement 
du Tier-Monde) - Zimbabwe has started a partnership with 
farmers to collect indigenous seed material and test their 
suitability for different field conditions.  Over 250 varieties 
of indigenous cereals have been collected.  ENDA encourages 
peasant farmers to produce their own seeds and supports farmer-
led research and training programs.  These programs have 
produced indigenous materials that store well and require few 
chemical fertilizers and pesticides.  Farmers also may earn 
income from producing seed for both the domestic market and for 
export to other countries in Southern Africa.

In the March/April 1994 edition of "Landmark," a Farmers' World 
Network publication, Chaguma explains that farmers formerly 
spread their risk by cultivating a wide range of crops.  In dry 
regions, farmers grew small grains, drought-resistant sorghum 
and local varieties of open-pollinated maize on up to 30% of 
arable land.  But the government considered indigenous seeds 
inferior and together with agribusiness aggressively promoted 
"modern" hybrid varieties.   Government policies based on this 
approach penalized farmers who intercropped to spread risk and 
did not recognize farmers' role in the management of plant 
genetic resources.  

Indigenous seeds tend to be drought-tolerant, require minimal 
external inputs and perform well when the natural organic 
fertility of the soil is properly managed.  They  also tend to 
have good storage properties, resisting attacks by weevils and 
other pests.  Overall, Chaguma states, traditional farming 
systems in Zimbabwe brought comparatively reliable yields and 
minimized risk of total crop failure.  

Rather than providing profits for local farmers as promised by 
agribusiness, hybrid seeds have aggravated household food 
security and degraded local natural resources because they 
require expensive chemical inputs and are not drought tolerant.  
These are serious constraints in a country where the majority 
of the rural population  -- about 4.5 million people -- live in 
areas with low rainfall and poor agricultural soils.  In 1992, 
Zimbabwe experienced the worst drought of the century and had 
to import emergency food aid because several basic food crops 
(including maize) were not drought resistant.  

Chaguma reports that with the use of hybrid seeds, many 
households became dependent on agribusiness for pesticides and 
chemical fertilizers, whose prices continue to rise beyond the 
reach of peasant farmers.  But hybrid seeds typically fail 5 
years out of 6 in the drier regions of Zimbabwe and plant 
genetic resources continue to be eroded.  Some 65% of the 
country's population therefore faces food insecurity, according 
to Chaguma.  

Unfortunately agribusiness, plant breeders and extension agents 
still tend to focus on yield as the main benchmark for seed 
performance.  In contrast, resource poor farmers have different 
and broader criteria, explains Chaguma.  They prefer crops with 
a broader genetic base to allow staggering of labor at peak 
work periods, to cope with different environmental factors and 
for selection of different end-use qualities. 

Source: Arthur Chaguma, "Farmers Lead the Way in Zimbabwe", 
Landmark, No. 2, March/April 1994.  (c/o Farmers' World 
Network, Arthur Rank Centre, National Agricultural Centre, 
Stoneleigh, Warks CV8 2LZ, England, tel: 0203 696969 ex. 338, 
fax: 0203 696900) 

Contact: Arthur Chaguma, Food Security Division Manager, ENDA, 
PO Box 3492, Harare, Zimbabwe, tel: 263-4-708-568, fax: 263-4-
729-204. 

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The Pesticide Action Network Updates Service (PANUPS) is a 
pesticide-related news service posted weekly by the Pesticide 
Action Network North America Regional Center (PANNA). PANNA is 
located at 116 New Montgomery Street, #810, San Francisco, CA 
94105. Tel: (415) 541-9140. Fax: (415) 541-9253. To receive a 
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send a short e-mail message to [email-masked].
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