July 3, 2023
 

Workshop participants from Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and India
 

Seed Equal, an initiative by the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), is a global partnership that unites international organizations and seeks to address the challenges associated with food, land, and water systems. Led by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Work Package 6 of Seed Equal seeks to increase access to improved seed by women, youth, and other marginalized smallholder farmers (collectively, ‘vulnerable groups’), most of whom are yet to experience the high rates of genetic gains offered by new crop varieties. In its first phase, the project’s primary focus is on Africa and Asia; Expansion to other continents is in the plans for subsequent years. In 2022, TASAI Inc. partnered with Seed Equal to develop a measurement tool to track the level of inclusive access in a country’s seed sector. 

The team began to draft a set of indicators to measure inclusive seed access in early 2023.  After multiple internal reviews, the TASAI and IRRI teams were ready to share their ideas for feedback and validation with a diverse group of stakeholders engaged in seed systems. The 3-day validation workshop took place in Nairobi, Kenya, on 30th May-1st June 2023. The workshop was attended by 31 seed experts from Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe and India, representing private seed companies, seed producer organizations, national seed trade associations, national gene banks, national and regional agricultural research institutions, and universities.  The workshop proved to be an insightful exchange as participants shared their experiences and ideas that coalesced around a set of indicators that they felt could provide a comprehensive assessment of inclusive access to improved seeds. 

One of the main points of consensus that emerged from the workshop was that it is imperative for direct consultation with farmers while determining the indicators of inclusive seed access. This necessitates the collection of household-level data in order to provide a comprehensive picture of inclusive access to improved seed. The proposed indicators such as willingness to pay for improved seed, access to finance/ credit, access to land for planting, the degree of engagement in community groups, the proximity to agro-dealer or seed seller and the proximity to or access to a model farmer.  
 

Dr. Jummai Yila from Seed Equal (Uganda) and Anna Wamache from Le Brits Ltd (Kenya)
 

Joyce Adokorach from National Agricultural Research Organization (Uganda)
 

Fred Zinanga from Community Technology Development Trust (Zimbabwe)
 

Seed Equal initiative lead Dr. Chris Ojiewo
 

In addition, the experts emphasized the need for intersectional analyses, which include correlations between age, gender, religion and other social identities. They also called for crop-specific disaggregation of seed indicators as opposed to a single set of crop-neutral indicators. As the status of seed sectors varies by country, not all indicators may be interpreted the same way. For example, Uganda has Quality Declared Seed producers who do not exist in Kenya or Zimbabwe. Likewise, Kenya has Standard Seed producers a category that does not exist in other countries. Both types of producers are regulated by the government and will be important sources of data for the pilot studies. The participants also identified a set of policy-related indicators to add to the existing set of indicators and possibilities of collaboration on policy-related indicators with Work Package 5 (Policies for varietal turnover, seed quality assurance and trade in seed) were recommended. 

Next for the TASAI and Work Package 6 of Seed Equal teams is to pilot the proposed set of indicators, testing their utility in measuring access to improved seeds for vulnerable groups. The ultimate goal is to generate data that will guide policy interventions in this area. The TASAI and Seed Equal teams look forward to sharing news about this important and exciting collaboration in the coming months.

Website: http://tasai.org

Published: July 18, 2023