Pathways to secure smallholder farmer seed security

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in partnership with several agencies in east and southern Africa have been testing and implementing different strategies to improve seed security of under invested dryland cereal and legume crops. ICRISAT’s approach focuses on improving the functionality of seed systems and allied productivity knowledge. Seed systems in this case refer to individuals, networks, institutions and organizations involved in the breeding, multiplication, processing, storage, distribution and marketing of seeds. Investments target two forms of seed systems namely: (a) Formal systems generally managed by seed companies, and (b) Informal systems generally managed through community initiatives by farmer and or civil society led initiatives, supplying quality declared seed. In general, the efficiency of any seed system is influenced by functional linkages between breeding pipelines for locally-adapted and farmer-preferred varieties, efficiency of seed production and delivery systems and effective technology transfer. The ICRISAT models aim to, among others (i) Improve production and availability of improved legume and dryland cereal improved seed to farming communities, (ii) Empower smallholder farmers especially women farmers, to access, use and control productive seed resources and opportunities, and (iii) Harness productivity enhancing knowledge and innovations to unlock genetic potential of new varieties. This paper highlights key achievements from investments over the last five years that included, among others, a) Establishment of a viable public-private partnership model that produced and delivered 8,184 MT and 124 MT of groundnut and pigeonpea certified seed respectively to Governments’ Farm Input Subsidy Program (over the period 2009-2014), and 54% of legume seed delivered by the private sector to farmers in Malawi, and b) Catalysing an eight-fold increase in early generation seed supply from 250 MT in 2009 to 2,000 MT in 2013; and produced 200 MT of pigeonpea certified seed for the first time for Malawi. In the two focus countries (Malawi and Tanzania), there has been overall strengthening of seed systems which has led to improved legume and cereal production and productivity, with wider benefits to smallholder farmers and the broader economy.