Zambia Govt mulls sale of MRI Seed, MRI Agro to Syngenta

The Zambia government will decide this month whether to allow Syngenta to purchase MRI Seed Limited and MRI Agro Limited, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has said.

Switzerland-based Syngenta, the world's largest maker of crop chemicals, plans to buy MRI Seed Zambia Limited and MRI Agro Limited, the leading developer, producer and distributor of white maize seed in Zambia.

"The commission recently did its investigation and made recommendation to the board on this deal. It's now up to the board to make final decision," CCPC spokesperson Hanford Chaaba said in an interview.

"The board is expected to look at the recommendations and make the final decision on September 20. At the moment we cannot pre-empt anything," he said.

However, a source close to the deal said the commission recommended that the deal goes ahead.

The source said the deal, which is expected to be concluded before the end of this year, is seen as a boost to Zambia's agriculture sector as smallholder and large-scale farmers would quickly benefit from Syngenta's innovation in seeds, seed care and crop protection.