In many African countries, agriculture still accounts for more than two-thirds of the labour force. Most family farms are less than two hectares. It is still often a subsistence agriculture, sometimes supplemented by a few cash crops. However, monetary income from agricultural activity is often modest; they do not allow farmers to invest in their farms. This results in low yields and insecurity in the event of climate change. The development of farming agriculture is based on three conditions: access to land, access to loans and access to the markets. Added to this is the evolution of cultivation practices. The adoption of the principles of agroecology offers real prospects for the development of agriculture while respecting the natural resources and health of the inhabitants. The training of future agroecological farmers is therefore of great importance. The transition to agroecology is, particularly, through access to quality farmer seeds. Currently, worldwide, seeds supplied by multinational companies are the ones mostly used by farmers. In Africa, this is not the case: most African farmers still use the so-called farmer seeds. The aim of this publication is to present the farmer seeds, their features and the issues related to their use in Africa. In the first part, after specifying what is meant by «farmer seeds», the various assets that these seeds represent will be presented. Then, the role of African farmers will be highlighted, in research in this field for centuries, to select resistant varieties adapted to each environment. However, all this work, done by generations of farmers in the various African countries, could be called into question if it is not protected. To this end, several African institutions, NGOs and research organisations are trying to respond to the pressure from large seed companies. This is a legal battle that must be fought relentlessly. In the second part of this document, sixteen «good practices» are presented: these are experiments carried out in nine African countries to improve the production of farmer seeds, their selection, their conservation and their dissemination. These practices, carried out by associations or young green entrepreneurs, are valuable because they are the result of reflections and experiments with farmers. Of course, the goal is not to implement them as they are in any environment; they must be considered in order to be adapted to a specific environement, depending on soil, climate, crops, current practices and climate change.