access to seeds

Final factsheet of Applied Research Fund project “Developing economically viable foundation seed production models for crops vital to food security in Mali” has been published online. »

This paper states that quality seed is one of the first and foremost prerequisites for a healthy and vigorous crop and considered as an important factor for increasing crop yield. However, in Bangladesh resource-poor farmers have limited access to quality seeds. Without proper policy implementation for quality seed supply, it is very difficult to achieve food security and the sustainable development goals. »

Changing climates will require African farmers to adjust which crop varieties they grow in order to adapt to changing patterns of weather, pests and diseases. Delivering more suitable, climate-smart crop varieties requires well-functioning seed systems in which actors work in harmony across the supply chain. Although a great deal of previous development funding has been used to breed new varieties and to encourage farmers to adopt them, the availability of early-generation seed (EGS) continues to be limited by bottlenecks in the supply chain.
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This article aims to assess political and social outcomes of the formalisation and commercialisation of the seed sector, by comparing maize seed system development in Ethiopia, Malawi and Tanzania, combining policy analysis with quantitative analysis of farmers’ seed use. Climate-smart seed policies and seed system development strategies must be sensitive to differences between farming systems and different groups of farmers if they are to deliver socially fair outcomes. »

The synthesis report reflects on the seed industry’s progress and the remaining challenges over this reporting period, against a changing global backdrop. The 2019 index demonstrates that seed companies continue to invest in providing access to seeds for smallholder farmers in index regions, through differing business models and approaches, providing increased evidence of their practices. »

Farmers (f/m) in Ethiopia and in other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) often have difficulty getting the improved seeds they need to raise the productivity of their crops or livestock, the climate resilience and the profitability of their business. These seeds may be available in public research institutes or with private breeders, but do not reach the farmers. This was the topic of a high-level multi-stakeholder workshop in the context of the NL-CGIAR Strategic Partnership, which generated lots of insights and new ideas for collaboration. »