The FMSS TWG of the AU-led Ecological Organic Agriculture Initiative (EOA-I) under the aegis of the Secretariat of the Continental Steering Committee (CSC) participated in the 3rd Steering Group meeting of the African Seed and Biotechnology Partnership Platform (ASBPP), held in Kampala, Uganda, from 23-25 May 2022. The EOA-I Continental Secretariat is hosted by Biovision Africa Trust (BvAT) based in Nairobi, Kenya.
During the meeting, a call to introduce the Seed Index into the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Biennial Review (BR) process was unanimously endorsed by the members. Prior, the 40th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council held on 2-3 February 2022 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and endorsed the decision for the establishment of the African Seed and Biotechnology Partnership Platform and the accompanying Operational Guidelines for the coordination and implementation of the platform at the national, regional, and continental levels: the strategic framework for the development of the seed sector in Africa (Assembly/AU/Dec. 135(VIII). The ASBP is coordinated by the African Union Commission Department of Agriculture Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment (AUC-DARBE) and supported by a Secretariat hosted by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).
The 3rd Steering Group meeting was officially opened, Dr. Godfrey Bahiigwa, the Director of Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Development (AUC-DARBE) at the African Union Commission (AUC). In his opening remarks, Dr. Bahiigwa noted that seed sector development has been on the agenda of Heads of States and Government since 2005, emphasizing the need for farmers’ access to quality seed in enhancing agricultural production and productivity. Hence, “the introduction of the Seed Index in the CAADP BR will allow us to report on progress made in seed sector development in Africa to the African Union Assembly”, he added.
Dr. Bahiigwa further urged the workshop participants to expedite the implementation of the various instruments endorsed by the AU policy organs to advance seed sector development. He underlined the need for timely submission of all the reports and action plans from the various Technical Working Groups (TWGs) to facilitate tracking of the implementation of the 10 years’ Action Plan of the African Seed and Biotechnology Partnership Platform.
Dr Simplice Nouala, Head of Division of Agriculture and Food Security at the African Union Commission, informed the meeting that FARA will officially undertake the mandate of hosting the ASBPP Secretariat after signing of an MoU with African Union. The Secretariat will be expected to closely work with various TWGs to develop a ten-year Action Plan and ensure effective functioning of the Platform, promoting linkages among stakeholders and information sharing on seed system development initiatives in Africa. This entails providing administrative support to the Thematic Working Groups of the Platform including a) Seed Quality Assurance and Certification Systems, b) Animal Seed, c) Plant Genetic Resources Management, d) Research, Variety Development and Seed Production, e) Seed Policy and Regulations as well as the two clusters on the private sector and Farmer-Managed Seed Systems.
The ten-year action plan of the ASBP is hinged on ten (10) components, namely: (i) Enhance policy and regulatory framework for an efficient seed system; (ii) Improve strategies for the collection, conservation, utilization and exchange of plant and animal genetic resources, seed and planting materials; (iii) Develop better variety/breed improvement programmes and seed production technologies; (iv) Strengthen seed production systems; (v) Enhance development of quality assurance systems with improved stakeholder contributions; (vi) Improve seed storage, marketing and distribution channels; (vii) Develop improved disaster preparedness and response to seed insecurity; (viii) M&E, Knowledge Management and communication; (ix) Enhance biotechnology uptake for an efficient seed system in Africa; (x) Cross cutting issues on environment, women and youth.
Dr. David Amudavi presented the FMSS action plan to the stakeholders during the meeting. He informed the meeting that the FMSS action plan has been aligned with the ‘Guidelines on Harmonization of Seed Policies and Regulatory Frameworks and Use of Biotechnology in Food and Agriculture in Africa’. During the meeting, the FMSS action plan was approved by the ASBPP with recommendations given for its improvement.
The FMSS cluster WG was represented by its Chairperson, Dr. Sarah Olembo, Dr. Daniel Maingi (A Seeds expert) and the EOA-I Continental Secretariat comprising of Dr. David Amudavi (Executive Director-BvAT), Mr. Alex Mutungi (EOA-I Continental Secretariat Coordinator) and Ms. Venancia Wambua (EOA-I Senior Project Manager). Farmer Managed Seed Systems (FMSS) entail a set of knowledge, practices and rules collectively developed by farmers, based on their customs and tradition, and applied to the selection, conservation, use, quality assurance and the circulation, in Smallholder networks, of seeds both plant and animal utilized by local communities. The EOA-I CSC recognizes the importance of FMSS in the implementation of the EOA decision (The EX.CL/Dec.621 XVII).
For more information on the Farmer Managed Seed System (FMSS) Cluster you can contact us through our email: info@eoai-africa.org or info@biovisionafricatrust.org.