The way forward requires greater emphasis on
the availability and access to technology, know-how and information
for developing countries.
Access to better seeds and to markets
By Robert Tripp
Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute, London.
Dr. Tripp’s comments were originally presented at the
symposium ‘Sustainable Agriculture in the Sahel. Lessons
and Opportunities for Action’, co-sponsored by the Syngenta
Foundation.
Every country needs a robust seed system to guarantee
the
sustainability of its agriculture and to ensure that
the products
of modern plant breeding and local farmer ingenuity
are widely
available. A commercial seed sector is necessary to
ensure
efficient seed provision.
To risk an arable metaphor about seed system development,
we might say that different types of management are
required at various growth stages, and many developing
countries face a long wait to see their efforts come
to fruition. But we are dealing with a perennial, and
some rewards can be harvested along the way.
The first prerequisite is a robust agricultural market.
If farmers cannot sell their produce, a commercial seed
sector is unlikely to survive. Subsistence farmers also
benefit from a commercial seed sector, though much of
the initial demand will come from market-oriented farmers.
However, there are some crops for which a commercial
seed sector is unlikely to grow fast. Farmers do need
to be well-informed about the varieties available, so
that the capacity for farmer-to-farmer seed movement
is in place. Demand for particular varieties and
better quality seed will provide incentives for the
emergence
of more formal seed provision for these crops.
For many crops, the principal source of new varieties
will be public sector breeding, and public plant breeders
must be connected to the demands and priorities of farmers.
Public research institutes must have a sustainable system
for maintaining and delivering source seed of their
non-commercial varieties to anyone who wishes to multiply
the seed. In some cases, the periodic sale of source
seed to selected farmers or farmer groups may be sufficient
to maintain seed supply for certain varieties. If larger-scale
seed production or distribution is required (in the
absence of an established commercial sector), contracting
private providers is usually preferable to establishing
a public seed production scheme.
Farmers regularly buy seed from their neighbours (see
Table above) and whatever can be done to improve the
quality and reliability of such seed is all to the good.
Often the seed is sold for the same price as grain.
In some instances farmers establish a reputation as
seed providers and are able to charge a small premium
above grain price for their seed. But there is a significant
gap between these prices and the minimum price necessary
to sustain a commercial enterprise. It is difficult
to see how a seed enterprise, even at the local level,
could charge less than twice grain price for its seed,
if it has to pay for all of the costs of maintaining
contacts with source seed suppliers, quality control,
storage, marketing, etc. Unless farmers are convinced
that this seed is of exceptionally high quality, they
will likely prefer to go to their neighbours, rather
than to the local enterprise.
Supportive regulatory frameworks are also a public responsibility.
Regulation should be seen to encourage the evolution
of a diverse collection of seed enterprises rather than
as an institution that limits access to market participation.
Efficient mechanisms should be available for the approval
of new varieties from various sources. Much of the regulation
of seed quality should be transferred to producers and
consumers, and regulatory agencies should devote more
of their budgets to developing seed producer competence
and providing
consumer education.
There is much that public policy and donor assistance can do
to help identify potential entrepreneurs for the seed business;
help them make the appropriate connections with business
and technical resources; enable contracting among elements of
the seed provision chain; and promote the growth of industrial
clusters and professional associations in the seed business.
Providing this type of guidance means we must provide support
in ‘the proper season’. It also suggests that we guard against
‘opportunities lost’ (such as prohibitively restrictive regulations.)
Finally, let us remember that the development of a commercial
seed sector is not only compatible with farm-level seed
management capacities, but actually depends on strong farmer
seed systems, where farmers know a great deal about varieties,
are engaged in widespread seed exchange, have good
connections with formal plant breeders, and are confident
and knowledgeable consumers of various agricultural inputs.
