| Few agricultural inputs are as important as seed, for it is the nature of the seed that determines the basic potential of any cropping enterprise. Without good quality seed of adapted, improved and appropriate varieties, farmers will struggle to attain food security and profitable farming. In southern Africa, great strides have been made in the development of suitable varieties of maize for small-holder farmers. Many of these new varieties have been registered by national maize programs and seed companies, but the rate of scale-up and dissemination is insufficient to impact large numbers of house-holds. Therefore, more concerted efforts are required to progress towards the vision of the New Seed Initiative for Maize in Southern Africa (NSIMA).
The NSIMA Phase III is focused on increasing the uptake of improved maize varieties by small-holder farmers in Southern African Development Community through enhancing the effectiveness of the seed value chain. |
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| Period: | 2011 – 2013 |
| Objectives: | Develop and stimulate production, marketing and use of improved maize varieties with increased productivity, nutritional value and acceptance under the stress-prone conditions of resource-poor farmers. |
| Partner countries: | Angola, Botswana, D.R. Congo (Katanga Province), Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. |
| Funding institutions: | Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) |
| Key Partner Institutions: | CIMMYT, NARES, GART, Africa Harvest, the Private Seed Sector, NGOs, and Community Farmer Organizations in SADC countries. |
| Principal coordinators: | CIMMYT, Zimbabwe |
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| Project organization: | NSIMA Regional Steering Committee for Maize working through National Coordinating Units in Participating Countries, supported by a Regional Coordination Unit based in CIMMYT-Zimbabwe. |
| Highlights: | Highlights of phase II |
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Capacity development 