Maize (Zea mays L.) Seed System Analysis in China: A Case Study of Hebei Province, North China

The main objective of this study was to assess maize seed system in Hebei Province. The primary data collected from 324 respondents randomly selected from six locations. Descriptive and non-parametric statistics used to analyse primary data. The results show that 73.1 percent of farmers were males and 48.1 percent of farmers attended primary school. The study revealed that 73.1 percent of farmers preferred high yielding maize varieties and 73.8 percent sourced seed from agro dealers. In addition, 59.6 percent of farmers produced maize for both consumption and market, and while 53.1 percent used Urea fertilizer. Study shows that 34.7 percent of farmers sourced information from media, radio and television. While 33.3 percent and 57.4 percent of farmers were seed secure and 6-months seed security period, respectively. At least 70 percent of farmers had positive perception towards seed price, seed source, seed quality and maize varieties. The Kruskal-Wallis H test showed that there is a statistically significant difference in area, seed price and seed rate among the six locations. In conclusion, promoting a good seed system and encouraging stakeholder involvement in the seed system will increase seed availability and sustainability of the hybrid maize seed to the users.