EXITIERRA
Quality Certified Bean Seed
As we have worked to improve incomes for rural Nicaraguan families, an area that you’ve heard a lot about already is our certified seed program. When we consider all the factors that influence yield, the use of quality seed for helping achieve predictable outcomes from crop production puts us at least 40% of the way down the road to improved yields. Quality seed not only addresses issues of germination, vigor and genetic purity, it is an effort that focuses on bringing the RIGHT GENETICS to rural Nicaragua. Genetics that deliver disease resistance, grwth caracteristics, and yield that farmers want. Genetics that deliver colour, size, and taste of beans that consumers will buy.
In bean production in Nicaragua, LA SEMILLA is currently the only provider of certified seed. We’ve invested lots of time and effort, and not only has it made a huge difference for farmers, our work has caught the attention of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Committee. FAO has a significant presence here in Nicaragua with the goal of food security for the greater population. Recently a delegation visited our facilities in Jinotepe, Carazo to know our work better, and to congratulate us on this accomplishment of supplying certified seed. Over the past 3 decades, many initiatives have been started in this area, but only La Semilla has been able to bring this goal to it’s end – Congratulations Franklin Garcia and your team! The FAO recognized the difficulty of achieving the bean seed certification, especially since many had failed before us. There remains some challenges in marketing – the failures of the past have made many producers skeptical of the certificate, but aligned with our core values of honesty and integrity, we’re showing how this committment of ours is their’s to gain. The FAO, together with Nicaragua’s agriculture department, has committed to helping LA SEMILLA achieve a broader marketing presence. Step by step the differences add up and families are moving forward!
