a systems approach towards seed sector development in africa

Integrated Seed Sector Development

A systems approach towards seed sector development in Africa

Marja Thijssen, Wageningen UR Nairobi, 14 July 2014


Outline:

Agriculture, ISSD and seed systems

ISSD guiding principles

National program: ISSD EthiopiaSeed system: Local seed

businessGovernance: Partnerships and

innovation

Continental program: ISSD Africa

Recap


Quality seed is a key input forincreasing agricultural productionand productivity

Seed sector is complex andfarmers gain access to seed fromdiverse 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

Seed systems

Farmers gain access to seed fromdiverse 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

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


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


Beans, rice, maize, sorghum, potato

Improved varieties released through

public programmes

Standard, QDS

Distribution and marketing

National companies (public – private)


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


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


Facilitate interaction between informal and formal systems

●Recognize informal seed systems●Interaction between various components of the

seed value chainvariety

development

EGS production

seed multiplication

seed dissemination

PGR management

seed selection

production

diffusion

PVSCBM

Local seed outletsSeed extension

Development and food securitydrivers

Market and profit drivers

Development oriented


• 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


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

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

Set-up of ISSD Ethiopia programmeLo

cal s

eed

busi

ness

Nati

onal

priv

ate

seed

co

mpa

nies

Inte

rnati

onal

see

d co

mpa

nies

Supporting a pluralistic and

market oriented seed sector

Strengthening demand driven seed services

Polic

y de

velo

pmen

t

Enabling and evolving policies

Polic

y

impl

emen

tatio

n

Partnerships and

Innovation

Capacity development Experience sharingProcess facilitation

Research and studies

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


24 crops and 127 different varieties

Gradual scaling from 35 groups to over 200 groups

2010 2011 2012 20130

5

10

15

20

25

TigraySNNPROromiaAmhara

Seed production (excluding potato, in kt/year)


Seed for business: Ethiopian farmers as seed entrepreneurs

www.youtube.com/user/ISSDethiopia

http://www.youtube.com/user/ISSDethiopia

ATA

Private seed

companies

LSBs

Public seed companies

ISSD

MoA/

BoA

EIAR/

RARI

NGOs

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 policydialogue


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


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


Partnerships in seed sector development in Ethiopia

www.youtube.com/user/ISSDethiopia

http://www.youtube.com/user/ISSDethiopia

ISSD Africa

Mali

EthiopiaGhana

Uganda

Malawi

Burundi

Mozambique

Zambia

8 multi-stakeholder country task teams plus international partners

Operating under the umbrella of the AUC ASBP

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”

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

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

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

Thank you

For more information please visit:

www.ISSDseed.org

http://www.tinyurl.com/ISSDafrica

a systems approach towards seed sector development in africa

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