Keeping Watch Over Africa’s Seeds: Next Steps
Top Regulatory Agencies Meet in Nairobi to Improve Seed Industry
Nairobi, Kenya (3 June 2008) –– Adding one more rung to the ladder to reach food security for the continent, today the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) convened top agricultural regulatory agencies to discuss ways to repair the failing systems that oversee seed production.
Regulatory agencies that supervise seed suppliers are intended to protect small-scale farmers from fraud and ensure that qualified entities are involved in the production, processing and marketing of seed. Yet in many African countries, these regulatory agencies are understaffed and underfunded, and appear to be overwhelmed as the private seed sector begins to take root and grow.
As a result, uncertified seed often finds its way to the market. Production fields are rarely inspected and seed processing procedures are rarely followed. In the end, fake seed, lacking the yield potential or other qualities claimed, finds its way on market. Culprits—even when caught—are never apprehended. The meeting in Nairobi will help ensure that moving forward, small-scale farmers will have access to good quality seed.
“There is a tendency for some seed producers, companies or agro-dealers to take advantage of the weaknesses in the seed regulatory system and supply poor quality seed to farmers,” said George Bigirwa with AGRA.
Flooding the market with sub-par seed can impact future uptake of improved seed varieties that are designed to boost productivity. If farmers cease to see any difference in performance between their local varieties and so-called improved varieties, there will be no incentive for them to purchase new varieties.
“I’m glad AGRA has recognized the importance of the seed regulatory and certification agencies and how they are key partners in the seed value chain. Our role is to police the stakeholders so that, at the end of the day, farmers access quality seed. In this regard, we need AGRA’s support, just as the breeders and seed companies need it, for training, funding and advocacy with our governments,” said Dr. Francis Maideni, Head of the Seed Certification and Regulatory Body in Malawi.
If the seed regulatory system gets back on track, AGRA believes that there will be increased uptake of improved seed and increase in yield, food security, household income and improved livelihoods.
Through its Program for Africa’s Seeds Systems (PASS), AGRA recognizes that improved seed is an important tool towards helping farmers attain food security.
“One of the primary goals of the PASS strategy is to establish a vibrant, competitive African seed sector, and this can only be achieved by working closely with various stakeholders in the seed value chain,” explained Bigirwa.
While AGRA has given support to a number of private seed companies, it has not yet engaged the seed regulatory agencies.
“We need to strengthen and empower the seed regulatory bodies by urging government funding, recruiting people to run the agencies, facilitating them, and more importantly, making them autonomous. A case in point is the Kenya Plant Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS),” noted Bigirwa.
It is against this backdrop that AGRA chose to convene a meeting to establish mechanisms of collaboration with seed regulatory agencies for the smooth running of the seed industry in Eastern and Southern Africa. Participants addressed the status of the agencies, their constraints, strategies to overcome them, and the way forward in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia.
Most of the regulatory agencies were established at a time when there was a single seed production enterprise that accounted for the vast majority of commercial seed production in their country. But now these agencies face an increasingly diverse seed provision system (including domestic and international firms as well as small-scale producers), and at the same time have to contend with inadequate and unreliable government budgets and often deteriorating infrastructure.
As a result, most seed regulators are unable to meet the commitments implied in regulatory protocols. They are forced to cut corners, and only make cursory inspections, or seeds are kept from market simply because of a lack of resources. In some instances, seed producers have actually provided resources to regulators in order for them to perform their job, or makeshift arrangements are put in place (such as commissioning extension agents to perform regulatory duties).
Key issues addressed at the meeting included:
- Improving seed certification and regulation in the respective countries
- Identification of areas of collaboration and support
- Informal seed production
- Role of NGOs in seed production
- Production of planting materials for vegetatively propagated crops
- Variety release procedures and their implications on farmers getting improved seed
- Data collection on seed: production, sales, imports and exports
- Partnerships with public NARIs, seed companies and national seed trade associations
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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.