From left to right SEEDCO Managing Director Felistus Gurajena, ZRP National Spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi
By Edward Makuzva
Harare, Zimbabwe – In a bid to protect farmers and ensure national food security, SEEDCO Zimbabwe, a leading seed producer, has joined forces with the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) to combat the scourge of counterfeit seeds.
The SEEDCO-ZRP collaboration will conduct raids, inspections, and investigations to identify and prosecute counterfeit seed dealers. The operation will focus on high-risk areas, including major agricultural markets and border posts.
Counterfeit seeds have become a significant threat to Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector, with unsuspecting farmers losing millions of dollars to unscrupulous dealers. The fake seeds, often packaged to resemble genuine products, result in poor crop yields, reduced quality, and significant financial losses.
Speaking at a press conference Tuesday in the capital, Seed CO Limited Maniging director, Felistus Gurajena emphasized that these culprits are taking advantage of unsuspecting farmers by selling fake seeds at significantly lower prices, making it difficult for farmers to distinguish between genuine and fake products.
Gurajena’s concerns highlight severity of the issue, as counterfeit seeds can lead to poor crop yields, reduced quality, and significant financial losses for farmers. This not only affects farmers’ livelihoods but also compromises national food security.
“As the leading brand in Agrobusiness, we are not blind to fraudsters that are swindling the people of Zimbabwe of their hard-earned money by selling them fake seeds in fake packaging.
“This deplorable act must be treated with the contempt it deserves, and this is why we are working tirelessly with the ZRP across the country to make sure that his lawlessness is nipped in the bud.
” It is therefore very important that farmers buy their seed from the reputable distributors that we work with. We also have own shops that service the farmers. Our goal is to make sure farmers never have to travel more than 2km to get Seed Co seed – we are driven to achieve this as Customer Centricity is one of our Values.
“It is most unfortunate that annually our farmers are losing their hard-earned money to bogus suppliers of fake seed who are seemingly cheaper than the official distributors. It has become increasingly difficult to visually differentiate between original seed and fake seed as fraudsters are becoming cleverer in preparing their products. Sometimes they are even stealing original seed packaging and packing fake product inside” Gurajena explained.
Gurajena added that the sale of fake seeds has a far-reaching negative effect, not just for Seed Co or other seed companies, but trickles down to the farmers, the country, and region. We encourage people to report bogus traders to ZRP because they are breaking the law (Seed Act and Trademark Act).
Statistics reaveled that in 2020/2021, 51 cases were reported, and 138 tonnes were recovered. In 2021/2022, 47 cases were reported, and 117.5 tonnes were recovered.
Also in 2022/2023, 40 cases were reported, and 74 tonnes have been recovered.
In 2023/2024, 35 cases were reported, and so far, 35 have been recovered.
She highlighted that the decline in cases reported last season is a result of this fruitful partnership with ZRP and for that, we are truly grateful. We endeavour to continue this operation until we get to a point where zero cases are reported and there is no fake seed on the streets.
Speaking at the same occasion, ZRP Commissioner, Paul Nyathi said Seed Co has also been affected as unscrupulous syndicates are selling fake and counterfeit maize seed packed with material and logo resembling the company’s trade mark and brand to deceive customers.
” It has come to our attention that some unscrupulous informal traders and hardware stores are selling counterfeit seeds branded with reputable companies’ logo at lower prices compared to.oroginal certified seed from authorised dealers. This malicious practice not only cases financial losses to farmers but also jeopardize food security and agricultural sector in the country.
” We urge farmers to be vigilant and report any suspicious activities”, said ZRP Commissioner, Paul Nyathi”. “Together, we can eliminate this threat and ensure Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector remains vibrant and productive”.
Commissioner Nyathi urges farmers and the public to exercise extreme caution when purchasing seeds and ensure they buy seeds from reputable dealers, authorized distributors or directly from certified seed producers.
