THE SEED SECTOR IN MOZAMBIQUE

The main objective of this paper is to describe the seed sector in Moz ambique. The Mozambican population is about 17 million, of which 80% l ive in the rural areas and have agriculture as their main source of in come. The agriculture sector is dominated by small scale subsistence f armers. At independence in 1975, the seed sector was still very underd eveloped. In 1978 a national seed program was initiated which resulted in the establishment of a commercial seed company and a quality contr ol and certification unit. Plant breeding is still very weak and conse quently lagging behind other seed sector components. The seed market h as been dominated for the last ten years by emergency and relief organ izations. An outline of the existing seed program components is given, as well as their stage of development, critical issues involved and s olutions adopted. The development strategy defined for the seed sector for the period 1988-1995 is also reviewed. This paper illustrates tha t the developments taken place in the last fifteen years have laid dow n the infrastructure and institutional framework for a well functionin g Mozambican seed industry.