Strengthening seed systems to meet the challenges of food security

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Strengthening seed systems to meet the challenges
of food security
M. Larinde, P. Le Coënt, R.G. Guei T.
Osborn Austria Room, 9 July 2009
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Presentation outline

• World Food security and hunger
• Overview of global seed industry issues
• FAO s Contribution to strengthening seed
  systems in developing countries
• Seed policy, strategy and programmes formulation
  or review
• Strengthening local seed production and supply
  systems

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Food security challenges

• Nine billion people to feed in 2050 in the face
  of limited resources and climate change.
• FAOs food price index in March 2009 was still
  23 higher than 2005

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Food security challenges

• There is a need to improve agricultural
  productivity and food security in poor rural
  communities.
• Functional and efficient seed delivery systems
  is critical to sustainable production
  intensification and productivity increase

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• Overview of global seed industry issues

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Estimated size of global seed markets
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DISTRIBUTION OF SEED MARKET IN AFRICAMarket
share in Million US (source ISF)
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Seed systems development Key issues

• Policy and legislation ( norms, taxes, subsidy,
  laws, IPR, international and regional
  cooperation)
• Science (genetics, technology, physiology,
  entomology, pathology, agronomy,
  biodiversity....)
• Economy (management, marketing, investment,
  finance, credit)
• Culture and social (livelihoods, traditions,
  indigenous knowledge)

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• Formal Versus Informal sectors
• Business competitiveness and return to investment
• Higher value crops with higher profit margin
  (hybrid maize, hybrid millet and sorghum,
  vegetables) Vs lower value crops - Self
  pollinated (rice, millet, sorghum, cowpeas), open
  pollinated and vegetative propagated crops
  (cassava, Plantain, yam ..)

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Most companies deal with hybrid Maize

• About 47 Distinct Seed Companies.
• 70 have maize seed.
• 15 large seed companies in ESA, most of which
  are in Southern Africa.

Cimmyt, 2006
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• Cost of seed production and distribution and the
  need for heavy investment in
• People
• Land
• Equipment
• Infrastructure (drying, storage, treatment, bags)
• Transport
• Services (registration, certification, IPR)

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FAO s contribution to strengthening seed systems
in developing countries
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• Assist countries and regions on request to
  formulate conducive, flexible, coherent,
  comprehensive, and integrated seed sector
  development policies, strategies and programmes
  in line with the IT and the GPA

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Trends in countries requests

• There is an increasing request for seed policy
  and legislation reform by countries and regions
• From 2005-2009, 62 of AGP projects including
  emergencies have seed components or seed officers
  as LTO

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ISFP projects with strong seed components
(AGPS-LTU)

• 79 TCPs ( 29,998,000)
• 23 OSRO/GCP/UTP ( 52,359,414)

EC food Facility
Afghanistan, Burkina Faso,CAR, DRC, Guinea
Bissau, Liberia, Mozambique, Nepal, Pakistan,
Zimbabwe TOTAL about 130,000,000 about 10
projects in finalization
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Trends in countries requests

• Countries want to improve the use of quality
  seed and improved varieties
• Productivity increase
• Mitigate negative impact of the food crisis
• Climate change adaptation.
• Need to invest in local seed production
• Local varieties more adapted and strategically
  important for the national food security.

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• FAOs work Seed policy and legislation reform

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Main Constraints

• Non conducive Government policies and regulatory
  frameworks
• Import-export controls, tax, financial services
• National segmentation
• IPR (PVP)
• Overregulation in some countries not adapted to
  farming structure
• Low level of agricultural development (rainfed
  agric)
• Limited or no access to market

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Main Constraints

• Poor infrastructure
• Cost of transport, utilities
• Small Market Size
• Low effective demand
• Small, dispersed clients

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• Inefficient diffusion of technical knowledge to
  end users
• Statistics on farming profiles and seed markets
  not reliable
• Market disturbance due to seed donations

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Seed Policy Development Process

• Identification of national priorities and
  problems through, assessment, stakeholders
  consultation/ field visits
• Joint work with national counterparts for
  elaboration of policy or legal texts
• Endorsement of policy or legal text by national
  policy makers

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Elements of a Seed Policy

• Establishment of institutional arrangements (NSC,
  Seed Fund, Seed observatory)
• Definition of roles of the various actors to
  avoid unfair competition and maximize efficiency
• Definition of measures, rules and regulations for
  tax incentives, seed IPR, other measures to
  improve seed trade

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Elements of a Seed Policy

• Setting of national interests
• Compulsory certification vs. true-to-label
  approach
• Acceptance of landraces in national lists of
  varieties

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Elements of a Seed Policy

• Definition of measures or standards
• Production-conditioning-storage-distribution-marke
  ting
• Import and Export,
• Standards for certification
• Requirements for variety release
• Support to credit

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Achievements

• National level
• Seed policy reform in Afghanistan, Iran, Sierra
  Leone, The Gambia, Congo DRC, Cote D Ivoire,
  Burkina, Cameroon..
• Lead to seed industry development in Afghanistan
  and Iran
• improvement in seed quality control in Burkina
  and Cameroon
• national seed association and stronger seed
  institutions in Cote D Ivoire

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Achievements

• Regional level
• Seed policy and programmes
• West and central Africa (1998)
• Near East North Africa (1999)
• Asia and the pacific (1999)
• Latin America and the Caribbean (2000)
• Central and Eastern Europe (2001)

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Achievements

• Regional seed programme for Central Africa
  (CEMAC) adopted in 2009
• Africa wide African seed and biotechnology
  programme (ASBP) for the African Union- adopted
  in 2007

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Achievements

• Harmonizing seed rules and regulations
• Harmonization of seed rules and regulations in
  Africa
• West Africa (ECOWAS/UEMOA/CILSS) (Adopted in
  2008)
• Southern Africa (SADC)
• Eastern Africa (ASARECA/EAC)
• Central Africa (CEMAC)
• COMESA ( being initiated)
• Harmonization in Central Asia ( Economic
  Community Organization (ECO)

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Key areas of harmonization

• Variety release regulation
• Plant breeders rights
• Quarantine pest lists- an phytosanitary measures
• Seed trade regulations
• Seed certification and standards

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Harmonizing in Africa
COMESA (19)
CEMAC (6)
ECOWAS -15 countries
EAC/ASARECA (6 )
SADC (14)
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Strengthening local seed production and supply
systems
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Presentation overview

• Current state of seed systems
• FAO strategy to strengthen local seed production
  and supply systems.
• Examples of FAO projects to support local seed
  production and supply

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State of seed systems

• In countries with market oriented agriculture
• Seed sector is dominated by the formal seed
  system.
• Huge development of the private seed sector since
  1950 (variety development, seed production and
  distribution)
• Consequence farmers are using high quality seed
  of improved varieties and agricultural
  productivity is high.

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State of seed systems

• In countries dominated by subsistence
  agriculture
• Farmers seed systems largely dominate.
• Predominance of landraces and old varieties (in
  Africa less than 20 of the land is planted with
  improved varieties) and a variable seed quality.
• In these countries, formal seed systems are weak
  
• Limited private sector involvement
• Public sector involved in early generation seed
  multiplication, sometimes certified seed
  multiplication with poor results
• Inefficient seed quality control systems and
  extension services.

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State of seed systems

• In countries dominated by subsistence
  agriculture
• This situation is mainly due to
• Limited investments in seed sector development
• Limited market for seed because
• Most staple crops are self pollinated,
  vegetatively propagated or dominated by open
  pollinated varieties
• Weak connection of farmers with output markets
  which limits their revenues and capacity to
  invest in inputs
• Lack of access to credit
• Limited access to information
• Limited farmers use of improved varieties and
  low agricultural productivity.

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Shifting paradigm of seed sector development

• Constant objective improve farmers access to
  quality seed of adapted varieties.
• FAO Seed Industry Development Programme umbrella
  strong investment in public sector seed
  production.
• System failed because too costly. Transfer to the
  private sector, but in many countries the private
  sector never developed.
• Current strategy is to facilitate the development
  of local private sector seed enterprises

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Elements to be considered to develop a national
seed production and supply system
Seed policy and regulation
Formal seed system
Farmers seed system
Variety development and variety release
Seed multiplication
Seed processing and transportation
Seed distribution
Seed Market
Output market
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Elements to be considered to develop a national
seed production and supply system

• Strategy must be adapted to the type of crop and
  to the agricultural system in place.
• Low volume high value crops (Hybrid Maize,
  vegetables...). High profitability of seed
  activities
• Seed production for this type of crop can be
  easily managed by the private sector
• High volume - low value crops (wheat, rice,
  groundnut, cassava...). Low profitability of
  those activities.
• Importance of public sector involvement in plant
  breeding, early generation seed multiplication
  and quality control
• Limit overhead costs and develop community based
  seed entities.
• Improve connections between seed producers,
  farmers and the food industry to increase
  investment capacity of farmers.

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Examples of seed production and supply projects
Ethiopia

• Objective Strengthening the Farmer Based Seed
  Production and Marketing Scheme in the Oromiya
  region.
• Principle formal public system is not able to
  meet seed demand. Improve farmers seed systems
  to ensure local seed production.
• Main crop wheat

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Examples of seed production and supply projects
Ethiopia

• Principles
• Providing basic seed of improved varieties and
  inputs to farmers groups on a credit basis
• Seed production by farmers groups
• Seed collected by cooperatives, processed and
  sold to farmers on a credit basis.
• Quality control and technical support from local
  extension service

• Project activities
• Linkages with research and make variety
  demonstrations
• Training of farmers on seed production
  technologies
• Provide equipment to farmers cooperatives
• Training and equipment to local extension
  services to improve technical support to seed
  production activities and seed quality control

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Examples of seed production and supply projects
Ethiopia

• Strengths
• Farmers involvement, knowledge and work in a
  high potential region
• Strong grain cooperatives need seed activities to
  improve overall profitability
• Active extension services at the community level
• Demand for quality seed and improved varieties
• Market for wheat.

• Weaknesses
• Limited quantities of basic seed available
• Limited profits from seed production limited
  interest of cooperatives.
• Weak seed quality assurance system
• Weak seed policy

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Examples of seed production and supply projects
Afghanistan

• Since 2003, FAO seed programme focuses on the
  development of the national seed sector.
• Activities
• Seed policy and seed legislation
• Variety testing and variety maintenance
• Early generation seed multiplication
• Quality assurance systems
• Support to private seed enterprises

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Examples of seed production and supply projects
Afghanistan

• Principle Private entrepreneurs buy raw seed
  from contracting seed growers and then process
  and sell seed
• A critical problem for seed enterprises is the
  cash need to purchase seed from seed growers at
  harvest time

Grain sales
Seed Sales
Growing season n 1
Growing season n
November
June
November
June
Seed processing
Inputs
Basic seed
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Examples of seed production and supply projects
Afghanistan

• To tackle this problem, an innovative approach
  is being undertaken in Afghanistan
• Principle
• make loan funds available to eligible enterprises
  for buying raw seed from growers
• enterprises payback all loans received for
  procuring raw seed and
• repaid loans deposited in a special fund of the
  Afghanistan National Seed Association (ANSA).

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Examples of seed production and supply projects
Sierra Leone

• Seed project in Sierra Leone an input / output
  approach
• Weak seed demand is a major reason for the lack
  of sustainability of seed production projects.
• Farmers are able to buy seed if they can market
  their crops at a better price
• Principle vertical integration of seed
  production activities and activities to improve
  value addition of crop outputs
• In the Sierra Leone project create rice milling
  facilities in the seed enterprise.

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What the examples illustrate?

• Ethiopia
• Strengthening farmers seed system can be an
  efficient way to establish a sustainable seed
  production system for self pollinated crops if
  appropriate support services are available.
• Afghanistan
• Access to credit is a critical issue for the
  development of seed enterprises.
• Sierra Leone
• Integrated input/ouput approach is a way to
  increase seed demand and strengthen seed
  production activities.

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General conclusion

• Formulation and implementation of national and
  regional seed policies and regulations are key
  to the development of seed systems in developing
  countries
• Both the public and the private seed sectors need
  to be supported
• Investing in small scale seed enterprises,
  including farmer organizations with an
  input/ouput market approach

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• Development strategies must be adapted to the
  type of crops, market opportunities, ie specific
  country conditions
• Importance of linking farmers seed systems with
  formal seed systems
• Strengthening seed systems is part of
  sustainable production intensification.

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Technology transfer and good extension approaches
Develop irrigation facilities
Improve storage capacity and access to markets
Upgraded farmers technical knowledge
Increased input access and use (seed,
fertilizer,water) Better infrastructure
Development of the input supply sector
Improved food production
Improved food availability Lower food prices
More structured food marketing sector
FARMERS
Vibrant input supply sector
Support to the seed production sector
Improve processing capacity
Investment capacity
Better income
Improvecredit access
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Strengthening local seed production and seed
supply systems
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