The Seed Control and Certification Institute-SCCI-says it is working towards meeting the requirements set by the European Union (EU) for the acquisition of the European Union Seed Compliance certification, which will enable Agro companies in Zambia to export maize seed to the EU.
SCCI Chief Seeds Officer Dr. Nathan Phiri said the export of maize seed to Europe is expected to meaningfully contribute to bringing a lot of forex into the country and result in employment creation, as companies would have to increase seed production, noting that this would also result in more revenue for the government, as Agro companies would have to pay more tax.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Dr. Phiri said this is an opportunity to diversify and move away from traditional exports such as copper adding that Zambia is specialized in maize seed production and is the largest maize seed exporter in Africa.
He explained that there is a huge market for maize seed in Europe, which Zambia should take advantage of as it has plenty of productive land, a good climate and a Non-Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) status, adding that many seed companies in Zambia have expressed interest in exporting maize seed to Europe.
“For now the interest is maize seed, we are exporting a lot of seed within the SADC region; we are also exporting a lot of seed into COMESA – East Africa. If need be, we will get into other crops like soya beans and groundnuts as those are crops that we can easily use to trade with these other countries”, he said.
Dr. Phiri noted that how long it takes to get the European Union Seed Compliance depends on how fast the institute puts in place all the set conditions adding that various issues including finances are determining factors. But we are confident of getting the certification.
He stated that the organisation sent an inquiry to the EU in June 2021 and only got a response in January 2022 adding that the institute is working towards meeting the conditions that have been set.
“We have inquired and the EU has guided us on what we need to do, we have been guided on the requirements and once that is done, we will make an application, so if there are any conditions the institute is not meeting, we are working towards that.”, he said.
