Exciting Progress on Farmer-driven Seed Systems in Africa
Program for Africa's Seed Systems (PASS) Grantees Meeting
October 5, 2009
Bamako, Mali
Foreword
Dr Joe DeVries, Director, Program for Africa’s Seed Systems (PASS)
Greetings to all collaborators in the field of crop improvement and seed systems development in Africa!
On behalf of the Organizing Committee, it is our pleasure to welcome you to Bamako and wish you an exciting and fruitful stay here in the heart of the Sahel.
This conference brings together the principal grantees in the area of crop genetic improvement, seed production, and seed supply of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with the aim of documenting progress achieved to-date toward improving the lives of Africa’s farmers through the development and supply of improved, adapted crop varieties of Africa’s primary staple food crops. By bringing representatives of these important investments together under one roof for several days, it also hoped that progress will be accelerated through the exchange of new ideas about how to reach farmers throughout Africa with the benefits of improved seed and crop management practices.
Indeed, we are aware that major progress has already been achieved. Here in Mali, for example, the past several years have seen the release of three locally-bred, hybrid sorghum varieties which are now in production by local seed companies and farmers’ seed associations. This year, these sorghum varieties will be joined by a number of hybrid maize and inter-specific rice varieties selected through collaboration between scientists of IER and several international research institutes. Across the 13-country program area of AGRA, we count 65 new varieties released since the inception of activities in March, 2007.
Just as exciting has been the birth and promising growth of several indigenous, private seed companies, which are beginning to operate on a profitable basis through the production and sale of improved seed to Mali’s smallhold farmers. Improved seed is now finding its way out to farmers in their villages through the development of a network of local agro-dealers who supply seed, fertilizers, and other agricultural inputs – and who also communicate key bits of information on their efficient usage. Farmers are responding by demanding ever-increasing amounts of improved seed – to the point where several countries are now experiencing acute shortages of seed for sale.
The exciting progress we are seeing in Mali is mirrored in many countries across Africa, to the point where we believe that average yields are set to climb after a long and difficult period of stagnation. This progress is fueled by the development and release of improved varieties by public sector breeding teams, on one hand, and rapid growth of private sector and collective seed enterprises, on the other. Looking at the pipeline of crop varieties under development and the continued investment in seed business, we believe this progress is set to accelerate in years to come.
This is all made possible through the daily efforts put forward by you, the participants of this conference. Without the continued application of your knowledge, learning, and risk-taking, we would have very little hope of benefitting Africa’s farmers and consumers.
In Africa, as much as in other regions of the world, improved, adapted seed is a true catalyst for sparking and sustaining Green Revolutions. By responding more favorably than traditional varieties to better soil fertility and crop management, seed of improved, adapted crop varieties provides local farmers with a new incentive system that drives yields upward, reversing years of decline. However, the quantities of seed being made available to farmers through sustainable, commercial channels remain insufficient. In the coming years, we believe that greater attention needs to be paid by governments and donor agencies alike to ways of creating a more favorable environment for the growth of seed markets and seed enterprises.
Colleagues, we are engaged in a dramatic and exciting battle against hunger and poverty which will require some time to be won. But by putting together the basic components of a farmer-driven seed system – new training, farmer-participatory breeding, and sustainable seed production and supply systems, we are assured of success. You are showing how it can be done. We salute your efforts and wish you many more and greater achievements in the years to come!
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About the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
AGRA is a dynamic partnership working across the African continent to help millions of small-scale farmers and their families lift themselves out of poverty and hunger. AGRA programmes develop practical solutions to significantly boost farm productivity and incomes for the poor while safeguarding the environment. AGRA advocates for policies that support its work across all key aspects of the African agricultural value chain from seeds, soil health and water to markets and agricultural education.
AGRA's Board of Directors is chaired by Kofi A Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations. Dr Namanga Ngongi, former Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme, is AGRA's president. With support from The Rockefeller Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK's Department for International Development and other donors, AGRA works across sub-Saharan Africa and maintains offices in Nairobi, Kenya, and Accra, Ghana.