POST-CERTIFICATION SURVEILLANCE OF MARKETED VEGETABLE SEEDS IN THE GREATER ACCRA REGION FOR SEED QUALITY MAINTENANCE

ABSTRACT

Quality seeds constitute one of the basic and the most important inputs in any vegetable crop production endeavour. A post-certification surveillance was undertaken to evaluate the quality of certified imported and local vegetable seeds at commercial retailers’ end in the distribution and marketing chains in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Structured questionnaires were administered to 18 commercial vegetable seed retailers who constituted the main vegetable seed delivery channels to farmers across the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Survey data was analysed using SPSS to ascertain vegetable seed retailers’ knowledge and experience on certified vegetable seeds and to determine marketing challenges they face in their operations. The results of the survey indicated that, certified vegetable seed retailers were experienced, well-educated and had adequate knowledge on standard procedures and practices related to the seed retailing business. The major problems faced by seed retailers were the lack of proper storage facilities which made them resort to storing seeds at temperatures ranging from 29 to 37 0C, lack of access to good communication network between them and farmers and complaints about high cost of vegetable seeds due to high import duties. Twenty vegetable seeds were initially sampled from fifteen out of the eighteen retail shops for initial seed quality evaluation at the Seed Testing Laboratory of the Ghana Seed Inspection Division (GSID) of the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD). Following the first sampling, a second informed selection of eight specific vegetable seeds common to nine retail shops were sampled for another evaluation. Both laboratory evaluations were arranged in a CRD with 4 replications and evaluated for percentage germination, percentage purity, moisture content, seed health and seedling vigour. Data collected from both laboratory evaluations were analysed using Genstat statistical package 12th Edition. Fishers’ Protected LSD was used to separate treatment means at 5 % significance level. Results from the laboratory analysis showed that vegetable seed quality were up to the labelled recommended standards for most of

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the imported vegetable seeds except for eggplant and onion but quality of some locally produced vegetable seeds such as okra and hot pepper were below the labelled recommended values. Poor storage practices and re-packaging of seeds into smaller retail packs were identified to be responsible for the loss in seed quality. The study highlights the need for investments in infrastructure and equipment for maintenance of quality in the marketing and distribution value chain for vegetable seeds. Increase in the production of high quality locally produced vegetable seeds (hot pepper and okra) would ensure availability of these vegetable seeds for end users.