The agricultural experts participating in the workshop stressed the need to formulate and adopt strategies and policies at regional and national levels to develop viable seed enterprises to increase the supply of quality seeds to smallholder farmers in West Africa.
13 May 2011: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the Africa Rice Center held a Regional Workshop on Seed Policy in West Africa, during which participating agricultural experts called for development of “food security crops” (rice, millet, sorghum, cowpeas and maize).
The agricultural experts participating in the workshop, held in May 2011, in Cotonou, Benin, stressed the need to formulate and adopt strategies and policies at regional and national levels to develop viable seed enterprises to increase the supply of quality seeds to smallholder farmers in West Africa. These activities will help to develop support seed entrepreneurs who currently suffer from the lack of coherent seed policies, poor infrastructure, and lack of access to improved seeds. Some participants noted that the seed sector is less developed in West Africa than in other parts of Africa.
Stakeholder groups called for the development of: improved seed varieties and effective seed systems; national action plans to support seed industries; partnerships between public and private sectors; capacity in the formal and informal seed sectors; an integrated value chain approach; and regulatory frameworks for growth of the seed industry. [CGIAR Press Release]