Official Newsletter of the WANA Seed Network
No. 29,
July 2005
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In this section we invite national seed programs, projects, universities, regional or international organizations to provide news about their seed related activities.
National Seed Policy Forum held in Afghanistan
A National Seed Policy Forum was held from 13-14 April 2005 in Kabul, Afghanistan. The workshop was organized by FAO under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food (MAAHF). The Forum was a consultative meeting for stakeholders of the seed sector to discuss the latest draft of the National Seed Policy with a view to reach a consensus on the content and agree on appropriate measures for effective resolution of these issues. The 2005 Seed Policy draft by MAAHF and FAO is consistent with a draft prepared by the Future Harvest Consortium and ICARDA in 2002.
A total of 82 participants attended the Forum who were drawn from the entire spectrum of the seed industry including the Agricultural Research Institute of Afghanistan (ARIA), the public sector Improved Seed Enterprise (ISE), seed producing NGOs, new private sector seed enterprises, farmers and international agricultural research centers.
During the plenary session on the first day, resource persons covered all aspects of the seed sector with the view of enabling the participants to have full understanding of pertinent issues in the seed industry to enable a lively debate and constructive exchange of views. The second day was devoted to a step-by-step review of the draft policy where both the English and Dari versions of the policy were discussed in detail while corrections and modifications were being made at the same time.
The national seed policy defined appropriate strategies including seed legislation, agricultural research and variety development, seed production, processing and storage, seed marketing and distribution, quality control and certification, plant quarantine, private sector participation, human resource development, informal seed sector, seed security, emergency seed interventions, credit and financial assistance, oversight arrangements and international cooperation.
Key discussion points
Several issues were raised and discussed during the plenary session on the first day, but the main focus was on thorough review of the draft seed policy for strategies, clarifications, inconsistency, ambiguity, and omissions. Some general points of discussion relating to the seed policy, its relevance, effects and implementation are as follows:
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There was unanimous agreement on the need for a formal seed policy in Afghanistan, which would serve as regulatory framework to implement and enforce the Seed Law and guide seed industry development |
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The seed policy should make it possible to exercise control over undesirable activities in the seed industry such as the import and distribution of non-adapted varieties and poor quality seed to farmers |
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The seed policy should be suitable to the conditions in Afghanistan and should be informed by and closely related to the national agricultural policy and the seed law |
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The seed policy would help focus government's attention on key areas that need urgent attention such as variety development research and plant quarantine |
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Formulation of the seed policy would help in prioritizing and defining strategies for short, medium and long-term consideration |
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The seed policy could be a useful tool for attracting donor support and attention to important but neglected areas in the seed industry |
The need for quick action in approving both the seed policy and seed law was emphasized.
Review of final draft
The English version of the final draft from the Forum was submitted to key officials in MAAHF for further review. When available, the approved final draft will be translated and presented to the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food. Sam Kugbei, FAO, Kabul, Afghanistan; E-mail: samuel.kugbei@fao.org
Farmer-based Seed Production an Alternative for Seed Security: The Ethiopian Experience
Introduction
The Ethiopian Seed Enterprise (ESE), established in 1979, is the sole public enterprise responsible for production and distribution of seeds of improved varieties to farmers. ESE receives breeder seed from the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization, Regional Agricultural Research Institutes and Agricultural Colleges/Universities and multiplies it further to basic seed on its own seed farms. The basic seed then multiplied on contract with state farms or farmers to produce certified or commercial seed for distribution. Currently, ESE produces more than 25,000 tonnes of seeds, which include over 100 varieties of 22 crop species and distributes the seeds through strategically located 6 main centers in the country.
In Ethiopia the use of commercial seed, however, is estimated to cover about 10% of the total cultivated land each year. Since the formal seed system has started relatively recently, the informal sector is still playing a significant role in the Ethiopian agriculture. With exceptions of some crops, the informal seed supply and use of local varieties is predominant. Informal seed production by farmers themselves or exchange through local channels is responsible for disseminating both local and improved varieties of the country's diverse crops. The informal seed sector consists diversity of traditional knowledge in local crop improvement and seed management including farmer managed seed production and local seed exchange mechanisms.
Objectives of farmer-based seed production
Formal sector seed production is by far lower than the farmers demand. In order to bridge the gap between seed demand and supply, a farmer-based seed production and marketing scheme was started as a new strategy in 1997 with the support of the government. The project was initially implemented and coordinated by the now defunct National Seed Industry Agency and the regional agricultural bureaus and financed by the World Bank through IFAD, which was concluded in 2001. In 2002, ESE took over the responsibility of farmer-based seed production in order to meet the seed needs of farmers.
The main purpose of farmers' involvement in seed production is to:
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Contribute to quality seed supply for use in the national agricultural development through participation of smallholder farmers in seed production |
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Motivate farmers to organize themselves as a group for sustainable production and income generation |
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Ensure seed security by building local seed supply capacity through production and distribution of preferred varieties on timely basis at affordable price |
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Facilitate the participatory approaches in seed production and extension |
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Encourage and provide incentives for private investors to enter the seed business |
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| Traditional seed cleaning practice (Photo: ESE) |
Arrangements for farmer-based seed production
The project was originally designed where farmers are grouped into clusters of 20 to 10, respectively, each contributing a minimum of 0.5 to 1 ha for seed production. Farmers are trained in techniques of quality seed production. Farmers are supplied with seed of improved varieties and inputs on credit with 25% down payment. Previously, the district agricultural bureau was responsible to provide technical support in on-farm seed production. Wheat, lentil, chickpea, haricot bean and linseed are priority crops for the on-farm seed production.
Since 2002, ESE is responsible for farmer-based seed production. At present, based on a contractual agreement, ESE supplies the basic seed on payment to interested farmers for further multiplication on their own land. ESE provides the technical support and seed packaging materials free of charge. The seed quality is controlled by the ESE and by the Agricultural Quality Control Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The ESE buys the seed that is produced by farmers and meets minimum requirements set in the contractual agreement. The existing grain price is used as a basis with an additional premium of 15% when purchasing the seed from farmers to cover the costs incurred for quality seed production. A committee formed from the representatives of ESE, farmers cooperatives, agricultural bureau and the farmer, will set the ESE purchase price based on the market survey within the vicinity where the seed is produced.
ESE collects the seed from the farmers, using its own transport free of charge. After processing the seed is distributed at a reasonable price back to other farmers where the seed was originally produced. The participating farmers are allowed to keep 10% of the seed harvest for their own use or for local exchange or sale to ensure the seed security of participating farmers and enhance the informal diffusion of improved varieties and seeds within the locality.
In 2004/05 crop season, there was a sharp increase both in area and seed production (Table 4). The share of on-farm produced seed was about 25% of the total certified seed produced by the ESE. Since the main emphasis of ESE is to increase on-farm seed production, this trend is expected to increase in the coming years. The number of participating farmers in the seed production increased from 695 farmers in 2002/03 to 6,679 farmers in 2004/05 (Table 5).
| Table 4. The quantity of seed produced from 2002 to 2005 | ||||||
| Region |
2002/03
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2003/04
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2004/05
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Area
(ha) |
Yield
(t) |
Area
(ha) |
Yield
(t) |
Area
(ha) |
Yield1
(t) |
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| Oromiya |
124
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1717
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546
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1204
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860
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1883
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| South |
46
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811
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122
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163
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1342
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3485
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| Amhara |
73
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1096
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310
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598
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1268
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1088
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| Tigray |
20
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332
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260
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426
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728
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1474
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| Total |
263
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3956
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1238
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2391
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4198
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7929
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| Source: ESE annual reports; 1 Estimated production | ||||||
| Table 5. Number of farmers participating in seed production | |||
| Region |
2002/03
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2003/04
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2004/05
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| Oromiya |
245
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768
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1206
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| South |
275
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900
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3109
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| Amhara |
137
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388
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1046
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| Tigray |
38
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485
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1318
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| Total |
695
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2541
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6679
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| Source: ESE annual reports | |||
Constraints implementing on-farm seed production
Some of the major problems associated with the farmer-based seed production include the following:
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Poor infrastructure (rural roads, transport facilities) greatly hinders efforts to reach more farmers and ensure seed quality control in remote villages |
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Lack of efficient and effective provision of credit for the participating farmers |
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High seed quality standards, particularly the problem to meet required isolation distances |
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Low grain price at harvest discouraging farmers to sale seed at 15% premium despite early agreement to sale seed at a fixed rate |
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Low return from the scheme and the volatility of the seed demand |
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Limited training and lack of experience both at farmers and technical levels |
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| Field day for on-farm seed production (Photo: ESE) |
In the coming years, the number of ESE centers and sales units is planned to expand to 20. This will broaden the smallholders' access to high quality seed of improved varieties. The decentralization effort combined with the strategy to work through farmers will accelerate the local skills and capacity for sustainable seed production at the community level. In order to respond to changing demands and government policies ESE is currently under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The Ministry is an umbrella organization consisting of various interrelated executive organs and public organizations that help to promote sustainable agricultural development in the country. Abdurahman Beshir, ESE, P O. Box 2453, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Fax: +251-1-613388; E-mail: abdubeza@yahoo.com
EARO Designates 300 ha for Tree Seed
Ethiopia is endowed with rich natural forests, but this resource is fast disappearing due to population pressure and rapid deforestation. EARO has designated 300 ha of land for the production of various seeds of trees in different agroecologies of the country. The organization is currently collecting and distributing 8,000 tonnes of seeds from the trees in the designated areas, but this only covers 39% of the total demand. It is also introducing various seeds of trees used for fuel and construction purposes from abroad and called on the private sector to participate in the expansion of the trees. The organization is undertaking research on two species of eucalyptus trees on 28 ha of land in Mankusa, and on 12 types of fig trees in Agewawi Zone of the Amhara State in northwestern parts of the country. It was urged that the public participate in rescuing various indigenous and exotic trees threatened to extinction by planting them in urban and recreational areas. Source: Walta Information Center 11 July 2004
Pakistan Approves Biosafety Rules
The Ministry of Environment in Pakistan has approved and put into law the country's biosafety guidelines. The rules apply to the manufacture, import and storage of microorganisms and gene technology products for research; all work involved in the field trial of genetically manipulated plants, animals (including poultry and marine life), microorganisms and cells; and import, export, sale and purchase of living modified organisms, or substances or cells and products for commercial purposes.
The government directed the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food to adopt biosafety measures in the agriculture sector to grow disease-free crops and boost agricultural production. The approved biosafety rules follow a three-tier safety mechanism system composed of the National Biosafety Committee, Technical Advisory Committee and Institutional Biosafety Committee that control and monitor the whole range of activities from the laboratory to the field. For more details of this approval please contact: Ijaz Ahmad Rao at luckystarpk@yahoo.com. Source: Crop Biotech Update 27 May 2005
Improving Traditional Seed Systems in Yemen
Introduction
Through out history, the Yemeni farmers are producing their own seed for planting. Despite the introduction of formal seed sector 25 years ago, yet traditional varieties still cover more than 90% of cereal, legume and oilseed crops. A pilot outreach program was designed to sustain and improve the long tradition of community seed production and was implemented by the Agricultural Research and Extension Authority (AREA), in collaboration with General Seed Multiplication Corporation (GSMC).
The pilot project was started in December 2002 and completed in June 2004. In the long-term, the program is expected to improve agricultural productivity of rainfed crops such as wheat, barley, maize, sorghum and millet by strengthening sustainable traditional seed systems.
The approach to improve the traditional seed system was based on the results of survey from ten governorates which generated the basic information and recommended to implement a pilot program in five primarily rainfed localities in the country: Qa'a Balasan (Dhamar), Shamat (Mahweet), Turaibah (Zabeed), De-sufal (Ibb) and Al-Araes (Lahj). The success achieved in these localities will be extended to other areas in the country.
Approaches in implementing the outreach program
AREA was awarded a contract by the World Bank to implement the program. A special task force was appointed to promote the idea of village seed production with emphasis on:
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Organizing local communities to handle seed production of indigenous landraces, ecotypes and local materials |
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Training of local communities in simple variety selection and bulking; techniques in seed production; recognition of offtypes and rouging seed fields; harvesting techniques to avoid mechanical damage; and methods of seed cleaning, storage and treatment |
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Selecting and training extension staff to work with farmers and provide technical support |
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Providing local farmer groups with simple equipment for threshing, cleaning, treatment, packaging, storage, and seed quality tests |
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Diffusing and accessing information on better management of seed at village levels |
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Encouraging sustainable activities related to farmers groups while documenting their practices |
The activities implemented and progress achieved by the project is described below.
Formation of farmers' groups
Farmers' groups or communities were formed in all five pilot sites including the farmers' leadership. These were followed by selection of extension staff to provide assistance in project implementation and facilitate exchange of local knowledge and experience among communities. The local varieties, initially collected from the communities were reintroduced to the farmers, after initial testing of the ecotypes by AREA and the universities.
Organizing demonstration plots
The crop varieties were planted under rainfed conditions when and where appropriate using farmer's practices. For comparison some of the varieties introduced to the region were also planted under traditional practices and improved methods of fertilizer application. Intensive field activities were conducted with collaborating farmers to improve and purify local varieties by random selection of fields planted by farmers. Regular visits were made to all sites and basic crop husbandry techniques were applied.
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| Demonstration field for sorghum seed production |
Training farmers and extension staff
Training of extension staff was conducted to enable them work with various communities. Later on the communities were trained on their premises with the participation of the extension staff. The training was focused on the importance and practices of improving traditional seed systems and on the activities to be implemented to ensure sustainability. Several extension materials were produced (e.g. leaflets, posters and video training shots) about each variety and practices being used by local communities.
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| Field training session on rouging wheat seed |
Introducing appropriate technologies
Appropriate technologies that help farmers maintain their own traditional seed systems were introduced. These technologies include provision of agricultural inputs and equipment such as threshers, seed drying, seed cleaning, seed treatment, seed quality testing tools, and storage facilities.
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| Locally manufactured threshing machine |
Extension campaigns and evaluation
Short training sessions, traveling workshops and field days were conducted in the presence of researchers and extension staff, to give local communities the opportunity to evaluate the performance of the introduced varieties or technologies. All activities implemented at village level were documented by means of video shots and photographs. The development and manufacture of appropriate technologies were also followed up during the program.
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| Field day in sorghum demonstration |
Main achievements, constraints and prospects
A total of 41 local or improved varieties suitable for rainfed areas were improved or purified by the program. Although the project implementation period was limited, farmers showed keen interest for the newly introduced varieties and purified local varieties and seeds. About 20 contact farmers and more than 150 other farmers benefited from the program.
The main constraints of the program are the low interest of the private sector in establishing small-scale seed enterprises, shortage of rainfall in some of the pilot sites, reluctance of small farmers to pay for some equipment (e.g. threshing machine) delivered and limited timeframe allocated for its implementation.
The most important challenges are the need to create a local seed marketing system for materials best suited to drier conditions. Moreover, capacity building of both formal and informal groups to sustain their activities and compete in the market is critical for further success of the program. Mohamed N. Sallam, Outreach Program, AREA, Dhamar, Yemen, P. O. Box 87148; Fax: +967-6-509414; E-mail: sallam2003@yemen. net.ye and Abdul B. Al-Aghbary, GSMC, Dhamar, P. O. Box 87282; Fax: +967-6-509449; E-mail: g.s.m.c@ yahoo.com
Variety Releases Across CWANA and Beyond
Ethiopia
The Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization (EARO) released its first low neurotoxin variety of grass pea, safe for human consumption. The new variety, 'Wasie', is derived from grass pea germplasm supplied to EARO as International Lathyrus Adaptation Trials (ILAT) in 1999/2000. 'Wasie' yields 1.67 tonnes ha-1 without any inputs, is moderately resistant to powdery mildew disease, and matures earlier than local varieties. The variety's low neurotoxin content (0.08%), compared with 0.4% in the local check, will reduce the number of lathyrism cases, an irreversible paralysis of the lower limbs that occurs when grass pea is consumed as a major portion of the diet over a 3-4 month period. The variety is recommended for cultivation in mid- to high-altitude areas (1700-2800 masl).
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| Researchers evaluating the variety in the field |
The release of 'Wasie' is a breakthrough in helping the poor who rely on this crop as their key source of dietary protein, not only in Ethiopia but also in other grass pea growing countries (Bangladesh, China, Eritrea, India, Nepal, and Pakistan). Source: The Week at ICARDA No 867, 1 May 2005
Turkey
In Turkey, the Field Crops Central Research Institute (FCCRI) announced the release of one new variety of grass pea and five of vetch in Turkey. All six varieties were derived from ICARDA materials provided through the international trial nurseries between 1991 and 1994.
'Gürbüz-2001', the new grasspea variety is recommended for seed and straw but is not tolerant to cold. 'Tarman-2002', a narbon vetch variety is recommended for seed and straw and is tolerant to cold.
'Baydurbey-2002' and 'Segmen-2002' are both cold tolerant woolly-pod vetches, and can be used for hay making and seed and straw, respectively. 'Anadolu pembesi-2002' and 'Oguz-2002' are winter hardy, red-flowering Hungarian vetch varieties. Both are recommended for seed and straw. All five vetch varieties are recommended for planting in autumn. Source: The Week at ICARDA No. 850, 23 December 2004
Mexico
A faba bean variety, 'San Isidro', was selected from ICARDA's international nursery and released by the Institute of Agricultural, Water, and Forestry Research and Training of the State of Mexico (ICAMEX). The variety possesses several desirable traits that are not found in local varieties. The variety is tolerant to chocolate spot and has desirable agronomic characteristics like short stature, lodging resistance, earliness, uniform maturity and high yield potential. 'San Isidro' seeds are suitable for consumption both fresh and dry; this gives producers the flexibility to adapt to the market demands. Source: The Week at ICARDA No. 848, 9 December 2004.