Market Information
Pioneer is growing its hybrid
corn seed scheme further into Africa
Dupont's Pioneer unit hopes to expand its hybrid corn
financing for farmers.
seed partnership with African governments and aid
"We have to work very closely with governments," he
groups, to Tanzania, after setting up programmes for
said. "It's programmes like Amsap for example, that are
farmers to use its seed in Ethiopia and Zambia.
proof points" for the use of hybrid seed.
In Ethiopia in 2013, Pioneer, the biggest supplier of
Dupont, through its Pioneer and Pannar units, is trying to
hybrid corn seeds in Africa, partnered with the
expand its seed business in Africa, where there are about
government and the US Agency for International
35-million hectares of land under corn with an average
Development, and there are now 300,000ha growing
yield of less than two tonnes per hectare, he said. That
corn using the seed.
was less than third of the average productivity of US corn
In February, the programme was rolled out in Zambia
farms.
and the company hopes to complete talks with Tanzania
"We have had conversation(s) in Ghana about the same
this year and launch the programme next year, Prabdeep
deal," Bajwa said. The governments are becoming more
Bajwa, the African regional business director for Pioneer,
receptive."
said in an interview in Bloomberg's Johannesburg office
While genetically modified corn seed is used in SA, it is
last Friday. The programme includes training and
not permitted elsewhere on the continent, boosting the
potential for hybrid seed, Bajwa said.
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