October 7, 2009

The March Toward a Green Revolution in Africa
Program for Africa's Seed Systems (PASS) Grantees Meeting
Bamako, Mali 5-8 October 2009

Over 300 participants at a pan-African Seeds conference sponsored by AGRA’s Program on African Seed Systems (PASS) and Mali’s Rural Economic Institute (IER) heard reports from AGRA grantees and partners across the continent. Speakers presented summaries of work highpoints and challenges, as they seek to strengthen national seed value chains and improve smallholder farming. Read summary below and click on links to read key materials relating to the conference:

• Exciting Progress on Farmer-driven Seed Systems in Africa (Introductory remarks by Dr Joe DeVries)
• Opening Speech by the Minister of Agriculture, Mali, Mr Aghatan Alhassane
• Key Players in African Seed Sector Meet to Accelerate Drive for Seed Systems Serving African Smallholder Farmers (Press release)
• Breakthrough in Sorghum's Yield Barrier (Mali) (Story from the field)
• Encouraging Adoption of Africa's Orphan Crops (Kenya) (Story from the field)
• Finding Hope in Farming (Mali) (Story from the field)

At a time when failing harvests are once again threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions across Africa, 300 agricultural scientists, entrepreneurs, farmers’ organizations and governments from 20 countries gathered in Bamako, Mali, on 5 October 2009 for a continent-wide conference sponsored by AGRA’s Program for African Seed Systems (PASS). They shared news on progress and set plans to accelerate a major effort to develop and deploy higher-yielding, drought and disease-resistant crop varieties of Africa’s most important food crops.

“Without a viable, sustainable system that provides our farmers with higher-yielding and disease- and drought-resistant varieties of our food crops, Africans will continue to suffer from food shortages,” said Dr Namanga Ngongi, President of AGRA.

The conference began with the launch of an important new partnership between AGRA, the African Seed Trade Association (AFSTA), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support the West Africa Seed Alliance (WASA). WASA’s goal is to promote a sustainable commercial seed industry focused on ensuring that West Africa’s small-scale farmers have affordable and reliable access to good quality seeds and planting material.

It will work closely with West African governments and regional organizations to implement policies that encourage private sector investments in local seed production and increased adoption of high-quality seed and complementary inputs. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the Seed Science Center at Iowa State University (SSC-ISU), and CNFA Inc. are implementing organizations.

As reported at the conference, the work of PASS grantees across the seed value chain has already resulted in training over 100 African crop scientists, funding some 40 crop breeding programs, steering 65 new crop varieties into the field, provided start-up capital for 32 African seed enterprises which have collectively produced approximately 6,000 MT of certified seed, and enlisted 5,000 agro-dealers who have provided smallholder farmers with $45 million worth of seed and farm inputs.

An assessment by AGRA earlier this year found that nearly all seed producers in 13 countries have sold 100 percent of their seed. Most indicated they could have sold more.

Website: http://www.agra-alliance.org

Published: October 7, 2009