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Dissertations, Theses and Plan B Papers -- Abstract

Rusike, Joseph. An Institutional Analysis of the Maize Seed Industry in Southern Africa. Ph.D. Dissertation, 1995. Major Professor: Eicher. 

Policy makers, farmers, agribusiness managers, and donors are grappling with the difficult problem of how to solve Africa's Ricardian food bottleneck and harness agriculture an engine of economic growth. Under pressure from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and major donors, 30 of the 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are currently implementing structural adjustment and policy reforms to revitalize their economies. Since agriculture employs two thirds of the population in Africa, the ultimate success of these policy reforms hinges on increasing the aggregate supply response of agriculture. Maize is the staple food and the foundation of household and national food security in Southern Africa. Currently, there is a major policy debate over the relative roles of the public and private sectors in increasing maize production, including the role of the state and private companies in the distribution of agricultural inputs. This study reviews the literature on transaction costs and develops a life cycle model of the development of the seed industry. The model is used to analyze the evolution of the maize seed industry in twelve countries, including six in Africa and six in Asia, Europe, North and Latin America.

The study found that the maize seed industry evolves in a path dependent process where the crafting of seed laws and enforcement of quality standards play a strategic role in reducing adverse selection, inducing specialized investments in the seed industry, and increasing the rate of adoption of high-quality seed. Although the ultimate effect of structural adjustment programs on the performance of the seed industry is unknown at this time, the economic reforms to date have encouraged multinational seed companies to enter the seed industries in Southern Africa and invest in plant breeding, seed production, conditioning, and marketing facilities. The entry of new private seed companies and the formation of public and private strategic alliances have revitalized seed industries in Southern Africa. This revitalization has increased the number of maize hybrids for farmers, improved seed quality and increased the proportion of the maize area planted to certified seed and national average maize yields in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi.