Strengthening Africa's seed systems

Harare - Global food and seed systems stakeholders meet in Zimbabwe this week to share experiences between Europe and Africa on creating seed regulations and laws that promote local and farmer-led seed systems.

“The Government of Zimbabwe recognizes the role smallholder farmers play in the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources, particularly their role in managing seeds, multiplying, breeding and selection, saving and retention and utilization,” said Honourable Vangelis Haritatos, Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development of Zimbabwe in his opening remarks at the workshop. “Therefore, enabling farmers to maintain and develop this diversity, along with their rich knowledge of traditional practices and agroecology, is vital in ensuring food security and sovereignty for the present and future generations,”  he added. 

More than 80 global food and seed systems stakeholders are meeting this week in Harare for a workshop focusing on building diversified pluralistic seed systems and advancing farmer-led seed systems to meet global challenges in food and agriculture. This workshop aims to collaboratively develop appropriate seed legislations that are more open to diversity in accordance with the Articles 5, 6 and 9 of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources on Food and Agriculture, namely Conservation, Sustainable Use and Farmers’ Rights.

“Fostering legal and policy environments that align regulations and recognize farmers' invaluable contributions to agricultural biodiversity is essential for sustainable development,” said Kent Nnadozie, Secretary, International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture at the Opening of the Workshop. “The outcomes of this meeting’s discussions will contribute to our collective efforts to enhance crop diversity, strengthen seed systems, and build more resilient livelihoods for smallholder farmers worldwide,”  he said.

The workshop, “From breeding for diversity to seed regulations/laws. How to promote an enabling environment for farmers’ seed systems”  is taking place in Harare 25 – 27 November 2024, and will include sharing of experiences of African and European countries.

Building effective seed systems is essential to successful agricultural transformation, diversification and intensification, food security, and inclusive market growth. While many factors contribute to how seed systems function and how markets develop, the policy, legal, and regulatory environment is often the first gateway to new opportunities in sustainable agrifood systems transformation.

The workshop is principally designed to enhance the development of smallholder farmers’ agricultural sector to facilitate access to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) to realize food and nutrition security while addressing the challenges of climate change. The main objective to find ways to promote an enabling policy environment for developing local and farmer-led seed systems.  

The workshop provides a forum to strengthen the seed regulation environment in Africa, by reflecting on the current legal frameworks, and discussing breeding, registration, certification, seed production and management of community seed banks particularly from the perspective of smallholder farmers.

“The alignment of the Benefit-sharing Fund to farmers’ seed systems is important, creating a more enabling environment for registration and distribution of farmer-led seeds, and I would like to applaud the organizers for this important milestone,” said Patrice Talla, FAO Subregional Coordinator for Southern Africa in a speech read on his behalf by FAO Senior Technical Officer, Berhanu Bedane. “FAO in Southern Africa is pleased by the Benefit-sharing Fund that provides clear and tangible evidence of benefits flowing back to farmers, particularly to support the conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and the rights of farmers in the region.”

The workshop is aligned to FAO’s International Treaty Benefit-Sharing Fund, which supports projects that leverage plant genetic resources to find solutions for complex challenges relating to food and nutrition insecurity, biodiversity loss and climate change. The meeting provides a vital opportunity to promote the sharing of knowledge across regions and countries. This includes breeding for diversity, which is key to the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources and crop diversity.

The outcomes of this global meeting will contribute to the preparation of an information document on the relevance of Farmers’ Rights and farmer managed seed system for the upcoming Eleventh Governing Body Session of the International Treaty in November 2025.  

The workshop was organized by the Community Technology Development Organization (CTDO) Zimbabwe; the Markets and Seeds Access Project (MASAP); Seeds for the Future (SEFF) and the Consumption of Resilient Orphan Crops & Products for Healthier Diets (CROPS4HD) with financial support of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation; the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ); the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC); the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD); the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA); and the Benefit Sharing Fund of the International Treaty (ITPGRFA).

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