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A systems approach towards seed sector development in Africa
1. Integrated Seed Sector Development
A systems approach towards seed sector
development in Africa
Marja Thijssen, Wageningen UR
Nairobi, 14 July 2014
2. Integrated Seed Sector Development
Outline:
Agriculture, ISSD and seed
systems
ISSD guiding principles
National program: ISSD Ethiopia
Seed system: Local seed
business
Governance: Partnerships and
innovation
Continental program: ISSD Africa
Recap
3. Integrated Seed Sector Development
Quality seed is a key input for
increasing agricultural production
and productivity
Seed sector is complex and
farmers gain access to seed from
diverse seed sources
Goal of ISSD:
Creating vibrant, market-oriented and pluralistic seed
sectors
Enhancing farmers’ access to quality seed of superior
varieties
Contributing to food security and economic development
4. Seed systems
Farmers gain access to seed from
diverse seed sources
Characterizing seed systems:
Domains: public, private, informal,
formal, mixed
Type of crops: food crops, cash crops
Type of varieties: landrace, improved,
exotic, hybrid
Type of seed quality assurance:
informal, QDS, certified, ...
Seed dissemination mechanism: local
exchange, agro-input distribution
schemes, agro-dealers
National private
companies
Major food and cash
crops
Maize (hybrid and OPV),
sunflower
Improved varieties
through public breeding
Certified
Agro-dealers and input
schemes
5. Informal, intermediary & formal seed systems
Farmer-
saved
Food crops
Cowpea, millets,
sorghum, banana,
cassava
Local varieties and
introduce and
recycled improved
varieties
Farmer seed
farmer-saved and
exchange, local
markets
Community-
based
Major food and cash
crops
Beans, cowpea,
pigeon pea, green
grams, millets,
sorghum, maize,
banana, potato
Local varieties and
introduced and
recycled improved
varieties
Farmer seed
Farmer-saved and
exchanged, local
markets
Relief
Food security
(subsistence) crops
Beans, maize,
cassava
Local, improved and
imported
Various
Free distribution,
voucher schemes
Local Seed
Business
Major food and cash
crops
Beans, rice, maize,
sorghum, potato
Improved varieties
released through
public programmes
Standard, QDS
Distribution and
marketing
National
companies
(public –
private)
Major food and cash
crops
Maize (hybrid and
OPV), sunflower,
brewing sorghum,
wheat, rice
Improved varieties
released through
public programmes
Certified
Marketing through
agro-dealers and
distribution through
input schemes
Multi-
national
companies
Cash crops
Maize (hybrids),
exotic vegetables
Improved varieties
released through
private breeding
companies
Quality
Direct marketing and
through agrodealers
Closed
value chains
Plantation and
greenhouse cash
crops
Sugar cane, tea,
cotton, tobacco,
flowers
Improved varieties
released through
private breeding
programmes
Quality
Seed import for use
within value chain
Informal Intermediary Formal
6. ISSD guiding principles
Foster pluralism and build
programs upon a diversity of
seed systems
● Every country has its own
landscape of seed systems
● Different seed systems have
different seed value chains
Promote entrepreneurship and
demand/market orientation
● In formal and informal seed
systems
● In the public and private
sector
•Plant genetic resources
management
•Variety development
•Early generation seed
production
•Seed multiplication
•Seed dissemination
•Seed use
7. ISSD guiding principles
Facilitate interaction between informal and formal
systems
● Recognize informal seed systems
● Interaction between various components of the
seed value chain
variety
development
EGS
production
seed
multiplication
seed
dissemination
PGR
management
seed selection
production
diffusion
PVS
CBM
Local seed outlets
Seed extension
8. Development
and food
security
drivers
Market and
profit drivers
Developmen
t oriented
ISSD guiding principles
•Plant genetic resources management
•Variety development
•Early generation seed production
•Seed multiplication
•Seed dissemination
•Seed use
Enhance complementary roles of private and public
sector
● Market and profit drivers versus development and
food security drivers
9. ISSD guiding principles
Support enabling policies for a dynamic seed
sector
● Policy frameworks supporting multiple seed
systems
● Adaptation of policy frameworks to changing
circumstances
Promote evidence based seed sector innovation
● Facilitate stakeholder partnerships for
experimentation with innovative approaches
towards institutional bottlenecks
● Collaboration with knowledge institutes for
research and studies
10. Coordinating partners:
4 Ethiopian universities: Bahir Dar, Haramaya,
Hawassa and Mekelle University
Oromia Seed Enterprise and the Ethiopian Seed
Association
Wageningen UR Centre for Development Innovation
Collaborating partners:
Federal, regional and local government; private
companies, NGOs and seed producer cooperatives
and their partners
Development partner:
DGIS, the Netherlands
ISSD operationalized in national
programme in Ethiopia
11. Set-up of ISSD Ethiopia programme
Localseedbusiness
Nationalprivateseed
companies
Internationalseed
companies
Supporting a
pluralistic and
market oriented
seed sector
Strengthening
demand driven
seed services
Policy
development
Enabling and
evolving policies
Policy
implementation
Partnerships
and
Innovation
Capacity
development
Experience sharingProcess facilitation
Research and studies
12. ISSD Ethiopia: LSB development
Local Seed Business:
Supporting farmer groups
in the development of community-based small
business enterprises
on the production and marketing of quality seed
of crops and varieties with high local demand
Vector for introducing improved varieties
Production of quality seed of local varieties
Building capacities in
four key performance
areas
13. ISSD Ethiopia: LSB development
24 crops and 127 different varieties
Gradual scaling from 35 groups to over 200 groups
0
5
10
15
20
25
2010 2011 2012 2013
Tigray
SNNPR
Oromia
Amhara
Seed production (excluding potato, in kt/year)
14. ISSD Ethiopia: LSB development
Seed for business:
Ethiopian farmers as seed entrepreneurs
www.youtube.com/user/ISSDethiopia
15. Private
seed
companies
LSBs
Public seed
companies
ISSD
ISSD Ethiopia: Partnerships & innovation
Strengthen seed sector
coordination and facilitate
systemic change:
Partnership platforms:
unite seed sector stakeholders
Joint definition and prioritization
of challenges
Suggestions for interventions
Innovation projects:
study challenges,
experiment with possible
solutions,
learn lessons, and
feed these into policy
dialogue
16. ISSD Ethiopia: Partnerships & innovation
Platform
LSBs
Policy and enabling
environment
Action learning and
research
Partnership projectUp-scaling
Local-regional interface
Regional-national interface
ExperimentingMonitoring
Learning Strategizing
LOCAL
REGIONAL
FEDERAL
Core group
17. ISSD Ethiopia: Partnerships & innovation
Innovation projects:
Diverse modalities addressing seed quality:
● Amhara: comparative study on seed quality
● Tigray: seed import regulations
● SNNPR: awareness raising on new seed
proclamation
● Oromia: establishment seed regulatory agency
Other projects:
● Access to early generation seed
● Access to finance for seed producers
● Seed marketing
● Seed and gender
● Seed related education, training, extension
18. ISSD Ethiopia: Partnerships & innovation
Partnerships in seed sector development in Ethiopia
www.youtube.com/user/ISSDethiopia
20. ISSD Africa
ISSD assessments in 8
countries in Africa:
How to make seed
programmes and policies more
coherent with farmers’
practices and realities
AUC-ASBP
ISSD Communiqué:
“A pluralistic approach to seed
sector development is required
to optimally serve objectives of
food security, economic
development,
entrepreneurship and
biodiversity”
21. National ISSD programmes in Africa
Scaling the ISSD approach in Africa through national
programmes
Operational in:
● Uganda
Formulated for:
● Burundi
● Ghana
● Mozambique
● Tanzania
Different programmes with different set-up based upon
national realities and demands
22. ISSD Africa: next phase
Collaboration with national seed programmes on 4
selected themes, being approached from and ISSD
perspective:
1. Common challenges to promoting seed
entrepreneurship
2. Access to varieties in the public domain
3. Matching global commitments with national
realities
4. Supporting seed sector development in the
context of AUC African Seed and Biotechnology
Programme and NEPAD Comprehensive
Agricultural Development Programme
23. Recap
Theory of change:
Increasing farmers access to quality seed increases
productivity
Increasing seed access through ISSD, which is a
comprehensive, inclusive and systems approach
Improved productivity leads to food security and
economic development
Proven success in implementation of the approach in
national programmes in Ethiopia and Uganda
Endorsement of ISSD approach the AUC at continental
level, with support from a variety of partners at national
and international level
In many Sub-Saharan African countries, agricultural development is key to accelerating economic development and overcoming poverty. Increasing agricultural production and productivity is vital for food security, since it provides a source of food and generates income for smallholder farmers. Growth in agricultural production also stimulates growth in other sectors of the economy. Limited availability of, and access to, quality seed is often regarded as one of the main obstacles for increasing production and productivity levels.
Seed entrepreneurship:
- production and seed services
- Entrepreneurship to enforce market orientation and sustainability
- ISSD Africa: seed entrepreneurship assessments in 8 countries
Partnership platforms
Partnership platforms in each region
With as many stakeholders fromlocal and regional settings as areinterested to participate
For joint discussion and definition of regional seed challenges
And suggestions of interventions that are demand driven
Led by a select core group of the key decision-makers
Who plan and monitor the implementation of innovation projects
Innovation projects
Study to generate evidence to warrant change
Generate awareness on the issue – evidence stands to reason, breaks the taboo
Formulate project to jointly identify, plan and experiment with solutions
By their specific nature themes need to be tackled at continental level but rooted in national practice