Large governmental organizations controlled the production of seeds in Africa for many years.Owners of small farms had to buy their seeds from these agencies.But now there is an effort to make seeds from other suppliers available to African farmers.The new, improved seeds might someday help Africa feed itself.Edward Mabaya grew up in Zimbabwe. There were ten children in his family. His father was a construction worker.His mother farmed their land. He says the small farm was very successful because his mother used different kinds of seeds.He says it was a time when many new kinds of seeds were coming into Zimbabwe. He said some farmers began to use them and increased their crop production.Mr. Mabaya said his parents used the money earned from those crops to send all their children to school.Mr. Mabaya is now a researcher at Cornell University in New York. He is working on a project that he hopes will give other small farmers the same chance his parents had.
