There is no one size fits all solution in agriculture but hybrid seeds have played a particularly positive role for farmers around the world. There is compelling evidence that hybrid seeds can significantly improve agricultural production and reduce its variance thereby increasing farmers’ profit. Kabia farm which was formed two years ago, is the first hybrid seed dealer in Sierra Leone with the intent to help people set up profitable farms.
The Farm’s CEO, Chernor Musa Kabia said his company is working towards linking farmers to market both locally and internationally and to also help them farm sustainably. He revealed that irrigation is a big factor during the dry season as some farmers in the country couldn’t produce well so they are also providing irrigation services and market.
The company provides different kinds of hybrid seeds and if a farmer chooses to grow tomato they have all the different types of varieties for the right season. “We represent Sakata Seeds which is a Japanese Company that has been in existence for about 110 years and they are one of the best seed company in the world.” Kabia said they have better shelf life for tomato as farmers usually recycle seeds and even some refuse growing tomato because it gets rotten easily so in essence they need to prepare a readymade market for it.
However, with the hybrid tomato seed, Kabia said it has a shelf life of about a month, which means that within a month the farmer can be able to link market and sell. Clarifying the need for hybrid seed, he said that it gives more yield to farmers and that if a farmer is using Open Pollinated variety (OPVs) and gets a return of 10,000 with hybrid seeds its ten times that. “The OPV yield cannot be compared to hybrid, for example with this improved variety it is bacteria resistant, longer shelf life, better taste and more harvest. We have okra variety that you start harvesting as early as the third week” he said.
As part of the their introduction process, farmers were schooled through workshops, field day and demo plot was also done all over the country for two years so most of the farmers that they deal with know the importance and why it is good to use hybrid.
“We want our farmers to be more competitive like other farmers in the sub-region, it is not that they are better than ours, but it is because they have improved variety of seeds and that gives them more money” he said. The Farm he said engages farmers all over the country, and presently they are targeting Diasporas as they help them return home thereby encouraging them to invest in farming. Kabia Farm helps them to lease land and set up a profitable farm in an effort to improve the food security in the country.
“If you go to the market now most vegetable are expensive and the reason being that most Sierra Leonean farmers don’t do vegetables but with Kabia Farm and our improved varieties most people will be willing to do vegetable production” he added. COVID-19 he said has been very tough on them as most of their seeds are imported but due to the unavailability of flights they are unable to supply what the farmers want.
The inter-district lockdown also affected their farmers as they could not go to their fields and this further slowed down their sales and eventually led him to redundant some staff. The Farm works through famer based organisations as regional distributors with its office space in Kambia and Freetown. ZIJ/17/08/2020
By Zainab Iyamide Joaque