The Deputy Director of Zambia’s Ministry of Agriculture paid tribute to Gorta-Self Help Africa for the leading role it is playing in improving access to quality seed for farmers in the country, at an event in Lusaka, last week.

The senior agriculture official joined representatives from a number of Zambia’s leading agricultural institutes at a forum on sustainable agricultural intensification that was hosted by Gorta-Self Help Africa, in the country’s capital Lusaka.

Representatives from the Zambian Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI), the country’s Seed Control and Certification Institute (SCCI) and academics from the University of Zambia joined locally based seed growers associations attended the event, which was also attended by representatives from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and Burkina Faso.

The Deputy Director at the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Alick Daka, commended Gorta-Self Help Africa on hosting the initiative, and praised the organisation for the role it was playing in promoting enhanced access to quality seed for small-scale farmers in the country.

Country Director for Zambia, Kalongo Chitengi, said that the event was an important one for Gorta-Self Help Africa, as it further underscored the important role that good quality seed had in ensuring robust and productive food production systems, and also boosted Self Help Africa’s credentials as leading experts in developing quality seed systems across sub-Saharan Africa.