| The liberalization and restructuring of the seed sector in eastern and southern Africa (ESA) during the past two decades have witnessed a proliferation of private seed companies in the maize seed industry (Hassan et al., 2001; Lemonius, 2005). Although the total number of registered maize seed companies increased from 8 and 11, respectively, in 1997 to 40 each, the quantities of seed marketed barely doubled, increasing from 23,000 and 27,000 tons to 53,000 and 51,000 tons, respectively; an indication that the reforms are insufficient in ensuring efficient functioning of the sector in the two regions. A study involving 117 seed providers, representing 92 percent of all registered maize seed companies in ESA in 2007 identified bottlenecks that have... |
