Status of seed sector development in Africa: Findings from The African Seed Access Index (TASAI)

22 November  2017. AGRA Webinar Status of seed sector development in Africa: Findings from The African Seed Access Index (TASAI)

Timely availability of improved seeds at affordable prices is critical to increased productivity by smallholder farmers in Africa. Improved seeds can deliver state ofthe art technology to farmers including higher yields, disease and pest resistance, climate change adaptation, and improved nutrition. 

Over the last two decades, formal seed systems in Africa have been gradually liberalized resulting in increased participation of private seed enterprises (multinationals, regional and domestic companies). 

This presentation shared the latest findings from The African Seed Access Index (TASAI), a tool that appraises the structure and economic performance of formal seed sectors. 

For the top four grain and legume crops in each country, the index tracks 20 indicators in five categories: Research and Development, Industry Competitiveness, Seed Policy and Regulations, Institutional Support, and Service to Smallholder Farmers. In 2016 and 2017, TASAIconducted 13 country studies in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The presentation highlights key findings from the studies and identifies choke points on the delivery of improved seed fromresearch labs to farmer fields. 

SPEAKERS: 

• Dr. Ed Mabaya (Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA)
• Mr. Mainza Mugoya (Market Matter Inc., Nairobi, Kenya) 

Background reading materials for this presentation are available online at http://tasai.org/reports/.
This brown bag seminar was organized by AGRA’s M&E and Knowledge Management Department