Seed Systems Under Stress

Within the last 20 years, disaster situations such as drought, civil strife, floods, crop plagues, or combinations of these-coupled with systemic poverty- have become the norm for most countries of Eastern, Central, and Southern Africa. Humanitarian relief practitioners, although skilled in quickly delivering short-term food aid, often do not understand the technical complexities of the agricultural context. Even though seed aid began in the early 1990s, the long-term effectiveness of such activities remains disappointing. Both food and seed aid are still being delivered to many countries year after year.

Because they base their diagnoses on food assessments, relief practitioners are typically ignorant of, or misunderstand stress situations as they apply to agriculture. For example, they commonly assume farmer seed systems to have collapsed or to have been inadequate in the first place. Yet field results show that seed systems are usually resilient. For example, in Rwanda, even after its genocidal war, local seed markets continued functioning, and crop diversity profiles remained stable.

Even research institutions tend to view disasters as opportunities to expose farmers to "improved" varieties of current crops or to alternative crops. However evidence shows that system resilience, not only productivity, is key to recovery and sustaining household food security after disasters. Multiple strategies - which strengthen local systems and introduce innovation - are often required.

CIAT, in partnership with relief and developmental agencies, facilitates the Seed Systems Under Stress Programme, which concentrates on:

• Helping to shape emergency relief, particularly in terms of seed aid and germplasm restoration approaches;
• Analysing the effects of different types of disaster (war, drought, flood, or crop plague) on the functioning of seed systems;
• Evaluating operations to further refine practices of seed system maintenance and strengthening in the context of both short-term (acute) and longer-term (chronic) stress;
• Working with policy makers to institutionalise "best practices";
• Developing robust assessment tools for use during and after disasters to diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of surviving systems, and to produce a targeted response.

This Programme's success depends on its links with many collaborators. These include the Eastern and Southern African bean networks, SADC, SSN, SPGRC, NGOs (e.g., Catholic Relief Services, World Vision International, and Action Aid), IARC collaborators, and international relief practitioners (particularly FAO and the U.S. Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance).

The Seed Systems Under Stress Programme currently executes three projects:

Assisting disaster-affected and chronically stressed communities in Eastern and Central Africa: small-farmer seed systems

(Funded by USAID and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA)). Implemented jointly by CIAT, CRS, and CARE/Norway. Goals are to develop diagnostic tools to assess the effects of a stress, either natural or man-made, on agricultural and seed systems and to analyse the effectiveness of various support strategies in reducing constraints. Action-oriented fieldwork evaluates on-the-ground implementation in Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, and Mozambique. Case studies and Project Briefs determine interventions appropriate to acute versus chronic seed-stress situations. They also address the various challenges to achieving seed security in terms of availability, access, and use.

Developing tools for assessing seed-system security

(USAID-funded). This project develops comprehensive tools to quickly assess seed-system functioning. These tools are designed for use in acute- and chronic-stress contexts, and on regional and national scales. These thinking aids are partially desk-based and partially involve team-based, on-the-ground assessments.

Seed aid and germplasm restoration in disaster situations: synthesising lessons learned and promoting more effective practices

(IDRC-funded). This project analyses trends in seed aid andgermplasm restoration practice, and their possible interconnections, particularly in Africa. It reviews 25 classic cases-developed through documentation, interviews, and selected field visits-to analyse current situations and provide a basis for improving practices over the next decade. More than 15 organisations are involved in synthesising current practices, and raising global awareness of options for making progress.

Download the Seed Aid for Seed Security - Advice for Practitioners. 10 Practice Briefs here

Achieving Wider Impact

Improving seed systems

More effective and innovative systems for producing and disseminating quality seeds of improved varieties in Africa is necessary in order to reach more farmers and ultimately achieve wider impact. Encouraging and supporting on-farm seed production by farmers is seen as one approach to sustainable seed delivery in Africa.  Production of seed ‘on site’ gives farmers betters access to quality seed of their choice. National Agricultural Research and Extension Service providers (NARES) supported by CIAT have been heavily involved in enhancing skills and knowledge of farmers in quality seed production, dissemination and business skills. More than 112 farmer groups have been trained and equipped with relevant resource manuals such as seed production and business training manuals, variety catalogues/description leaflets etc. Besides major international and regional languages (English, French and Portuguese, Kiswahili), those resource manuals have been translated into local languages such as Amharic (Ethiopia), Luganda, Runyankore ( Uganda), Kinyarwanda (Rwanda), Chichewa, (Malawi) (download manuals).

Facilitating linkages between farmers and a range of other actors providing seed systems related services is another tool to improving seed system effectiveness. Consultative sessions with NGOs, Government, farmers’ organisations , women’s groups as well as members of commercial seed sector and local grain traders have been facilitated by NAREs and supported by CIAT in order to foster partnership and to increase the efficiency in disseminating improved and preferred bean based technologies. For instance in 2004 in Rwanda, Bean Research Programme of Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Rwanda (ISAR) and 10 organisations have established a partnership to carry out bean research and development interventions responding to their farmers’ needs including supporting farmers to produce and disseminate improved bean varieties.

Similar institutional arrangement is being consolidated in other countries: Ethiopia 10, Malawi 12, Tanzania 22, Zambia 12, Uganda 23, Democratic Republic of Congo 33. As the partners collaborate and built more cohesive relationships, they formalised their partnerships in memorandum of understandings (MoU) with clearly stipulated roles, responsibilities and mutual obligations. This approach is likely to enhance partners’ participation in the development of bean-related technologies, as well as improve their dissemination to a range of farmers who were not reachable with the centralised seed systems (farmers in remote areas and marginal lands, poor, female headed households etc.).

However, getting new varieties and quality seed to farmers, especially the poor and those in marginal areas, has never been particularly easy. Recognising that less than 5 per cent of bean seed used by African farmers comes from certified seed channels (in any country), NAREs, supported by CIAT have embarked on a strategy of creative and somewhat opportunistic (in the sense of ‘seizing opportunities’!) seed dissemination. Non-conventional diffusers (such as heath centres , emergency seed suppliers, rural soft drink kiosks and grain traders) have also entered into formalised partnerships with NARES aiming to reach those people usually not reached.

In the 18 month period from July 2003 to January 2005, over 2.5 million households in East, Central and Southern Africa gained access to new and existing improved bean varieties that were previously not widely known or utilised. Rigorous follow-up has shown that many farmers had never before sown a new bean variety. For instance in Ethiopia, 73% of those who accessed seed reported that it was their first time to use new bean varieties. The decentralised seed system initiated by national bean research and development programmes is gaining ground among regional NAREs managers as well as other commodity research and development leaders. Many more are adopting the approach and linking it to participatory plant breeding and variety selection

It is hoped that such a deliberate and demand-driven offering of bean varieties, through novel and efficient channels, will not only accelerate the update of new technologies,  but broaden their reach (social and geographical) and enhance their sustainability. Ultimately, increased farmers’ accessibility to quality seed of variety of their choice will enhance wider adoption of improved bean varieties which will be translated into increased bean productivity and more income, balanced diets for farmers and other consumers, more business for seed and grain traders and improved national economies. This is good news for African farmers.