eprintid: 11567
rev_number: 13
eprint_status: archive
userid: 3170
dir: disk0/00/01/15/67
datestamp: 2020-08-23 15:38:09
lastmod: 2020-08-23 15:41:17
status_changed: 2020-08-23 15:38:09
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Akpo, E
creators_name: Feleke, G
creators_name: Fikre, A
creators_name: Chichaybelu, M
creators_name: Ojiewo, C O
creators_name: Varshney, R K
icrisatcreators_name: Akpo, E
icrisatcreators_name: Fikre, A
icrisatcreators_name: Ojiewo, C O
icrisatcreators_name: Varshney, R K
affiliation: ICRISAT (Patancheru)
affiliation: Ecole de Gestion et de Production Végétale et Semencière, Université Nationale d’Agriculture, Kétou
affiliation: Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, P.O. Box 2003, Addis Ababa 251, Ethiopia
country: India
country: Benin
country: Ethiopia
title: Analyzing Pathways of Nurturing Informal Seed
Production into Formal Private Ventures for
Sustainable Seed Delivery and Crop Productivity:
Experiences from Ethiopia
ispublished: pub
subjects: GL1
subjects: S25
subjects: cr1
subjects: s2.13
subjects: s4010
subjects: sed1
divisions: CRPS3
full_text_status: public
keywords: Seed enterprise incubation, Sustainable seed systems,Smallholder farmers, Dryland agriculture, East Africa
note: The authors are grateful to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which provided funding
support for this study through the Tropical Legumes III project, grant number: OPP1114827. We thank the
managers of seed enterprises and cooperatives, the sta� of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research and
NGOs for their kind collaboration.
abstract: Sustaining crop production and productivity in sub-Saharan Africa requires the availability
and use of quality seed of improved varieties by smallholder farmers. The private sector has been
considered as the best way to sustain seed supply and crop productivity. Unfortunately, the private
sector’s share in the seed production and delivery in sub-Saharan Africa countries has not been
very substantial for decades. As a consequence, farmer access to quality seed of recently released
varieties remains very low. This manuscript analyzes the experiences of informal seed producers who
graduated to formal private seed enterprises to understand the effectiveness of the support they receive
to become viable seed ventures. We used comparative research methods to analyze the qualitative
and quantitative data collected to understand the underlying mechanisms. The findings showed that
the analyzed seed enterprises started with as little as about USD 300 and have already multiplied
over tenfold their initial capital. They benefited from a wide variety of supports, e.g., quality seed
production, marketing, partnerships, and value chain development trainings and infrastructures,
from extension workers, research centers, national and international NGOs, and the other private
seed enterprise operators like large public seed enterprises and agro-dealers. The seed enterprises are
producing pre-basic, basic, and certified seed of cereals and self-pollinated legume crops delivered
directly to farmers, institutional markets, and agro-dealers. The seed production data have been
increasing for the past three years with an area expanding from about 30 ha to over 150 ha per year for
chickpea. The seed production and delivery practices being employed are smallholder farmer-based
practices that are environmentally friendly. For sustainable and reliable seed production and delivery
systems in sub-Saharan Africa, a bold step is needed whereby the informal seed production entities
are nurtured and upgraded into formal certified seed production ventures that deliver social and
economic benefits to the promotors and the communities.
date: 2020-08
date_type: published
publication: Sustainability
volume: 12
number: 6828
publisher: MDPI
pagerange: 1-18
id_number: 10.3390/su12176828
refereed: TRUE
funders: This research was funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, grant number OPP1114827
citation:   Akpo, E and Feleke, G and Fikre, A and Chichaybelu, M and Ojiewo, C O and Varshney, R K  (2020) Analyzing Pathways of Nurturing Informal Seed Production into Formal Private Ventures for Sustainable Seed Delivery and Crop Productivity: Experiences from Ethiopia.  Sustainability, 12 (6828).  pp. 1-18.      
document_url: http://oar.icrisat.org/11567/1/sustainability-12-06828%20%281%29.pdf