Africa
It is estimated that agriculture supports
90 percent of the continent’s population,
providing employment to 60 percent of
the economically active population and
70 percent of the region’s poorest communities according to AfDB.
Africa, one of the worst hit regions
by climate change, is of course grappling
with new crop pests and diseases which
have made the availability of high quality
planting seeds and effective crop protection
strategies even more urgent. Farmers, especially smallholder producers are shifting
from relying on seed saved from previous
harvest season to certified and treated seed.
Emergence of new pests and diseases
has attracted big names in crop chemical and seed making industries into the
region with some coming up with specific innovations targeting certain major
threats to farm crops.
BASF SE, the world’s largest chemical producer, Syngenta AG, global agrochemical and seed manufacturer and
publicly traded American agrochemical
and agricultural biotechnology corporation Monsanto Company are some of
the big names driving Africa’s seed coatings materials market in partnership with
other organizations keen on securing the
continent’s food security.
Syngenta is behind insecticide seed
coating material Cruiser, which is distributed in the South African market. The
company says the Neonicotinoid seed
treatment insecticide “is based on thia-methoxam, for use against soil-dwelling
and early-season pests in a broad range of
crops such as corn, sunflower, oilseed rape,
sugar beets, soybeans, potatoes and rice.
The company, which is listed as the
third seedmaker after Monsanto and
DuPont, has been promoting the application of chemicals directly to seeds before
they are sown to protect them against
pests and diseases and boost the crop’s
chances of survival after germination.
Apart from the initiatives of global
chemical and seed making companies in
expanding Africa’s seed coatings materials market, several not-for-profit organizations have teamed up with African
governments and smallholder farmers
to promote healthy crop production
through use of coated crop seeds.
For example, Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation (BMGF) has continued to explore opportunities to help African farmers embrace better production models,
improve market conditions and entrench
modern technologies in crop production
for the benefit of smallholder farmers.
One of the foundation’s initiatives is to ensure availability and well distribution network
for coated seeds in selected African region.
Not-for-profit organization Meridian
Institute said in a past report that the
BMGF investment in provision of “effective
and affordable coated seeds to smallholder
farmers could have substantial impact on
The Institute calls for partnership between companies in the manufacture of
crop chemicals and seeds and BMGF to
expand the use of coated seeds in addressing pests and diseases and gives
the example of BASF’s StrigAway, which
has been touted as solution in the battle against striga, commonly known as
witchweed, now a major threat especially
among maize farmers in East Africa.
BASF also offers other seed coatings
brands such as Flo Rite, Sepiret, Color
Coat, Custom Color although no statistics are available on their distribution in
the African market.
Additional opportunities for organiza-
tions such as BMGF include investing in
“advanced technology for seed coating to
allow for multiple layers of coating to cre-
ate one seed that would address multiple
problems to improve crop yields than sin-
gle coatings targeted to single problems.”
“Currently, seed coating technology
in sub-Saharan Africa is at a very basic
level (“low tech”), whereby the seeds are
stirred or mixed with the coating material
(and occasionally an adhesive) and then
immediately planted,”
Going forward the Institute calls for
investment by governments and private
sector in business models that “mass pro-
duction, distribution, and sales of coated
seeds”, which it says will have “signifi-
cant impact for the smallholder farmer.”
At the global level, a recent report
said the seed coating materials market “is
growing at a healthy rate and the market
is expected to grow in the future due to
the increasing demand for agricultural
products around the globe.”
“The growing environmental and health
concerns have also led to the increase in the
adoption of coated seeds rather than syn-
thetic crop protection chemicals for plant
growth and development,” said the report
by U.S.-based global research and consul-
tancy firm MarketsandMarkets.
The report says North America and
Europe are the top-two consumers of
seed coating materials and accounted for
more than 55% in 2013.
“Growth is particularly high in emerging
countries, such as China, India and Brazil
because of the major contribution of agriculture in the economy and the increase in
demand for agriculture production,” it said.
According to MarketsandMarkets:
“The higher efficiency of coated seeds as
compared to normal seeds, less impact on
the environment, and protecting crops
along with promoting growth all collec-
tively drive the demand for the seed coat-
ing materials market. The potential of
this market attracts leading companies.”
The market analyst says firms in crop
chemical and seed manufacture busi-
ness “are focusing on expansion across
regions and setting up new plants for
increasing production capacity as well
as strengthening the product line. The
companies are also putting efforts for
innovating new products which are eco-
friendly, to overcome the restraints.”
Although Africa has not experienced the
intensity of the debate on the dangers and
benefits of embracing herbicide seed coat-
ings for example, in the U.S. and other mar-
kets, it is getting louder as critics call for a
review of their use. Those resisting the use of
some seed coatings material claim for exam-
ple that insecticide seed coatings or neonic-
otinoids are harmful. They have been linked
to colony collapse disorder among bees, al-
though the claim remains controversial.
Despite the concerns raised over
the use of insecticide seed coatings,
MarketsandMarkets said companies are
eager to ”capitalize on the growth trend in
the global seed coating materials market and
are taking initiative in the development and
manufacturing of seed coating materials. The
growing demand for seed coating is forcing
the global players to add new innovative
products to their product offerings.” CW
