Agricultural seeds: West Africa seeks to lift barriers to regional trade
Ahead of the Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, West Africa wants to speed up the movement of crop varieties between its countries. The regulatory framework exists, but its application remains uneven, according to participants at a regional meeting organised by the Centre of Excellence for Seed Systems in Africa (CESSA).
"Seeds don't speak French or English," said Natasha Kofoworola Quist, AGRA's regional director for West Africa. "We have what we need in the region: the scientists, the institutions, the entrepreneurs, the farmers and the markets. It's all about making sure it stays connected."
More than 200 researchers, entrepreneurs, regulators and financial partners from seven countries took part in the meeting, held in French and English on 20 August by the Centre of Excellence for Seed Systems in Africa (CESSA), an AGRA initiative.
Their assessment is a shared one: despite the progress made over twenty years, seed released in one country remains difficult to sell in another. The challenge is therefore no longer only to develop new varieties, but to allow them to be multiplied and distributed at regional scale.
