The engagement of the private sector is key in realizing the international development agenda, as reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). The Access to Seeds Index is built around the premise that the seed industry can play a vital role in addressing global food security challenges. The Index assesses, scores and ranks seed companies according to their efforts to improve access to quality seeds of improved varieties for smallholder farmers in developing countries. It identifies leadership and good practices, providing an evidence base for the discussion on where and how the seed industry can step up its efforts. The 2016 Index focuses on the seven global leaders in field crops (such as maize, rice and wheat), ten global leaders in vegetable seed and zooms in on seventeen leading seed companies in Eastern Africa.

Purpose:

To start the conversation with the seed industry and its stakeholders on the role it plays in addressing global food security challenges, the event aims to:

• Inform participants of the main findings and development of the Access to Seeds Index;
• Interactively unravel the role the seed industry currently plays in availing quality seeds to smallholder farmers in developing regions, highlighting different stakeholder perspectives;
• Further the discussion on improving access to seeds: the opportunities for improvement and upscaling of promising projects.

Languages:

English, French and Spanish

Responsible Office:

Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department (AG)

Panel discussion with:

Mr Ido Verhagen
Mr Bert van der Feltz
Ms Josephine Okot
Mr Essau Mwendo Phiri

Mr Ren Wang

- Executive Director Access to Seeds Foundation
- CEO East-West Seed
- CEO Victoria Seed
- Executive Member of Malawi Forum for Agriculture Advisory Services
- Assistant Director General Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department (AG) at FAO

Moderator:

Ms Gerda Verburg, Netherlands Ambassador to the UN agencies in Rome

Related URL:

www.accesstoseeds.org

Twitter hashtag:

#CL154; #ATSIndex; @ATSIndex