To ensure improvement in ways in which assessments are conducted, it is of critical importance that regional level experts trained by the project in the Region training workshops support in-country assessments.

The project envisaged at least three assessments per region to be conducted during 2014 and 2015. These country assessments have been opportunities to train national experts through a preliminary training at the national level, so they can be resource persons in their own countries. The trained personnel then conduct the surveys and collaborate with trainers for the data analysis and the development of the assessment report. 

The project is serving as a feedback mechanism so that lessons learned from the national assessments process will nurture subsequent assessments, as well as training materials.

To date, six pilot assessments have been conducted:

• in Mali, March 2014: Seed Security Assessment in the Mopti region (in French);
• in South Soudan, April 2014: Seed Security Assessment report ofor the Northern Bahr el Ghazal State;
• in Chad, October 2014: Seed Security Assessment in the Moyen-Chari region (in French);
• in Niger, in October and November 2014: Seed Security Assessment in the Tillaberi region (in French);
• in Kenya, November 2014: Seed Security Assessment in the South-Eastern livelihood Zones of Kenya;
• in Burkina Faso, December 2014: Seed Security Assessment in the Soum province (in French).