Alexandria, Virginia, USA
June 21, 2011

Seeds are important to improving the livelihood of Sub-Saharan African farmers, explains a representative from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation at ASTA’s 128th Annual Convention, being held June 18-22 in Huntington Beach, California.

Lawrence Kent, a senior program officer with The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, portrays the conditions smallholder farmers work in and how different they are from U.S. farmers.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, Kent says most farmers are women who support their families on two to three acres. He uses a woman named Regina to present this information.
Regina doesn’t have access to fertilizer and plant protection products. Regina plants her seeds, but weeds will begin to come along and then a month or two later insects and disease will begin to take their toll, resulting in lower yields, Kent explains. Then, once every three to four years, she might be hit by a drought and this is devastating.
In most cases, he says, this may mean that she can’t provide enough and she loses a member of her family.

“We are trying to get women like Regina better plant material that can stand up to these attacks from weeds and pests,” Kent says. “Plants that are drought tolerant, diseases resistant and pest resistant – these would make a huge difference.

“Regina and women like her -- they are our clients. We want to make investments that can help women like Regina make a better living and help her nourish and provide for her family.”

The Gates Foundation has provided almost 2 billion worth in grants and investments across the value chain from science and technology to farmer productivity to market access. Kent explains that seed is a central component of the foundation’s goals.

By continuing to improve staple crops around the world through a number of technologies, we can improve yields and the lives of others around the world, Kent says. This is proven.

“There are not enough good seed companies in Africa,” Kent explains. “As a result farmers plant saved seed and from varieties that are 20 and 30 years old.”

He says these varieties produce less than a ton of maize per hectare, which is about half the yield of what farmers get in India and about a quarter of what we get in the United States.

“Our vision for what a system should look like is many seed companies in Africa delivering seed on time at affordable and competitive prices, so they too can make a living,” Kent says. “We need to triple the amount of seed being sold in Sub-Saharan Africa; the current seed supply in Africa is about 150,000 tons of seed sold in 13 countries.

“The big question is how we get from here to there. We have to work on the seed system. We need to nurture and create more seed companies in Africa, teach farmers about the power of seed and improve the regulatory environment to make it easier for seed companies to do business in Africa.”

There are great opportunities for drought tolerant and pest resistance crops and the improvements they can make in this area, Kent says. “These are traits that will convince farmers that it’s worthwhile to pay for these seeds.”

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation partners with many government organizations, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to help improve conditions around the world. Fortunately, the seed industry can play a pivotal role in helping the poorest countries improve their quality of life.

Website: http://www.amseed.org

Published: June 21, 2011