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Definition
A 'seed system' is "an interrelated set of components
including breeding, management, replacement and distribution
of seed." G. Thiele (World Development 27:83-99).
Two broad types are recognized: formal seed systems and local
or informal seed systems. These are well described below in
an excerpt from Louise Sperling and H. David Cooper's article,
"Understanding seed systems and strengthening seed security."
This article is available
online .
The formal seed system is "a deliberately constructed
system, which includes a chain of activities leading to clear
products: certified seeds of verified varieties. The chain
usually starts with plant breeding and selection, resulting
in different types of varieties, including hybrids, and promotes
materials leading to formal release and maintenance. Guiding
principles in the formal system are to maintain varietal identity
and purity and to produce seeds of optimal physical, physiological
and sanitary quality. Certified seed marketing and distribution
take place through a limited number of officially recognized
seed outlets, usually for financial sale. The central premise
of the formal systems is there is a clear distinction between
'seed' and 'grain.' This distinction is less clear in the
local, farmer seed system.
A local seed system is basically what the formal seed system
is not. Activities tend to be integrated and locally organized,
and the local system embraces most of the other ways in which
farmers themselves produce, disseminate, and access seed:
directly from their own harvest; through exchange and barter
among friends, neighbors and relatives; and through local
grain markets. Encompassing a wider range of seed system variations,
what characterizes the local seed system most is its flexibility.
Varieties may be landraces or mixed races and may be heterogeneous
(modified through breeding and use)…The same general
steps or processes take place in the local systems as in the
formal sector (variety choice, variety testing, introduction,
seed multiplication, selection, dissemination, and storage)
but they take place an integral parts of farmers' production
systems rather than as discrete activities. While some farmers
treat 'seed' specially, there is not always necessarily a
distinction between 'seed' and 'grain'. The steps do not flow
in a linear sequence, and they are not monitored or controlled
by government policies and regulations. Rather, they are guided
by local technical knowledge and standards and by local social
structures and norms. Despite, or perhaps because, of their
variability and local specificity to needs and preferences,
local channels (e.g. household stocks, markets, social exchange
networks) provide most of the seed that most small farmers
use. Common figures suggest that somewhere between 80-90%
of the seed farmers access comes from the local seed system.
(Seed systems) are complex and dynamic. One system is usually
not necessarily better or more effective than the other; they
meet different kinds of needs, sometimes for different environmental
niches, and for different types of farmers. Moreover, there
are no clear or absolute divides between the formal and local
seed systems: seeds and varieties can flow between them; farmers
draw upon one or the other, depending on need. Seed-related
interventions, whether for 'relief', 'rehabilitation' or 'development'
need to be based on an appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses
of each…we need to be proactive to develop productive
strategies to integrate the strengths of the two."
Relevant CCRP projects
Currently funded projects
Andean tubers (Peru)
Bean seed (Southern Africa)
Biodiversity
and soil (Peru)
Seed systems
(Ecuador)
Seed
systems (West Africa)
Previously funded projects
Chickpea
(India)
Finger
millet (India)
Relevant events
None listed as of
.
Relevant literature
Available in PDF format
 Scientific
references: seed systems
Available on the Internet
CIAT seed system work
- Website: CIAT-Africa
- Description: CIAT-Africa has been one of the leaders in
seed system research. The group gained much expertise in
this area as a result of their involvement in seed aid and
germplasm restoration programs aimed at helping African
farmers recover from disasters (both natural and manmade).
Details of their work can be accessed from this web page.
Among the documents that are available as PDFs, listed on
the right hand side of the page, see especially:
- Sperling, L. and H. David Cooper. Understanding seed
systems and strengthening seed security: a background
paper. 2003.
- Rubyogo, J.C, L. Sperling and T. Remington. 2004.
Seed systems and seed relief: an annotated bibliography.
- David, S. Farmer seed enterprises: a sustainable approach
to seed delivery.
Website: CIAT Partnerships for Seed Systems
- Website: CIAT
- Description: This link takes you CIAT's bean improvement
program on seed systems. This site summarizes a project
to link major seed system partners, including government,
non-governmental organizations, commercial seed companies
and local community-based organizations based on their comparative
advantages.
Small-scale seed producers handbooks
These are very practical and useful technical publications
aimed at building the capacity of farmer seed enterprises
to simultaneously supply local bean seed needs and improve
farmer livelihoods by helping to generate income.
- Volume 1: Producing Bean Seed (available in English, Portuguese,
Kiswahili, Chichewa)
- Website: Handbook
1
- Description: This "was written for small-scale
farmers who have no formal training or experience in
bean seed production, and are interested in producing
bean seed for sale. Researchers, extension agents or
local NGOs are also a valuable source of assistance
in understanding the topics covered in this handbook."
- Volume 2: Business skills for Small-Scale Seed Producers
(available in English, French, Portuguese, and 2 Ugandan
languages)
- Website: Handbook
2
- Description: This handbook "was written for people
who have no formal training or experience in seed production,
oriented especially toward small-scale farmers, entrepreneurs,
and community-based institutions, such as schools and
churches, that are interested in producing seed of various
crops for sale. Local NGOs or extension agents are also
a valuable source of assistance in understanding the
topics covered in this handbook. The handbook on business
skills for seed producers does not focus on any one
crop. In this context, "seed" also refers
to vegetatively reproduced crops, forages, and trees."
- Volume 3: Business skills for Small-Scale Seed Producers:
A Trainer's Guide. (available in English and French).
- Website: Handbook
3
- Description: This handbook "is directed more
specifically to guiding facilitators assisting farmers
and community organizations to set up seed-production
businesses. Both the agronomic and business aspects
of setting up a successful seed-production business
are discussed."
ICRISAT seed system work
- Website: ICRISAT
- Description: ICRISAT has also been a key player in seed
system rehabilitation/improvement. They provide the full-text
PDFs of several relevant publications at their website.
See especially:
- Reference: ICRISAT-Mozambique. Guidelines for planning
local seed system interventions: improving the efficiency
of seed distribution (English and Spanish)
- Reference: Rohrbach, D. K. Mtenga, J. Kiriwaggulu,
E. Monyo, F. Mwaisele, and H. Saadan. 2002. Comparative
study of three community seed supply strategies in Tanzania.
Follow this
link for the html version.
- Reference: Longley, C., C. Dominguez, and M. Devji.
2005. Agricultural input trade fairs and vouchers in
Mozambique: experiences and lessons learned. ICRISAT/ODI
Working paper.
CIP seed system work: Potato Seed Systems
- Website: CIP
- Description: Access articles related to CIP's potato
seed systems work. Another good reference on potato seed
systems is the article by Thiele listed in our seed
system bibliography.
CIMMYT seed system-related workshop
- Website: CIMMYT
- Description: "Strengthening Seed Marketing Incentives
in Southern Africa to Increase the Impact of Maize Breeding
Research." This site provides the information coming
out of a workshop on seed marketing in southern Africa,
held in Lilongwe, Malawi on March 17, 2004. The site has
downloadable baseline studies, background papers, reports
and training materials for Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and
Zimbabwe.
Formal seed system economics
- Website: ICARDA
seed unit
- Reference: Kugbei, Sam. Seed Economics: Commercial Considerations
for Enterprise Management in Developing Countries. ICARDA.
- Description: A full text book but with each section has
its own PDF. The four sections are: I. Overview of the seed
system; II. Technical and institutional aspects; III. Financial,
economic, social and environmental aspects; IV. Commercial
aspects. Follow this path to access the document: link above
> e-publications.
Aspects of African seed systems
- Website: IDEAS
- Reference: Maredia, M., J. Howard, and D. Boughton.
1999. Increasing seed system efficiency in Africa: concepts,
strategies, and issues. Dept. of Agricultural Economics.
Michigan State University.
- Description: "The purpose of this paper is to
provide a conceptual framework that can be used by agricultural
leaders, administrators, policy makers, and seed program
managers to (1) understand key factors affecting seed
system development; and (2) compare organizational and
institutional strategies for increasing seed system
effectiveness. A literature review of recent studies
on seed system development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
was undertaken to achieve these objectives. The studies
reviewed included published and unpublished reports,
monographs, and case studies."
- Website: World
Bank
- Reference: V. Venkatesan. 1994. Seed Systems in Sub-Saharan
Africa: Issues and Options. Discussion Paper No. 266.
Technical Department, Africa Region. Washington, D.C.:
World Bank.
- Description: This brief paper outlines the issues
and options to improve seed systems in the developing
world. It is available for reading online.
- Website: AgREN
- Reference: Longley, C., R. Jones, M. H. Ahmed, and
P. Audi. 2001. Supporting local seed systems in southern
Somalia: a developmental approach to agricultural rehabilitation
in emergency situations. Agricultural Research and Extension
Network Paper 115.
- Description: Follow this path to access this document:
link above > AgREN publications > Network papers
76-148.
Millet seed systems
- Website: IFPRI
(provides link for downloadable pdf file)
- Reference: Nagarajan L and M. Smale. 2005. Local Seed
Systems and Village-Level Determinants of Millet Crop
Diversity in Marginal Environments of India. IFPRI Discussion
Paper 135.
- Description: This paper describes the characteristics
of local millet seed markets in India, including seed
transfer rates between farmers, and seed replacement
ratios, and discusses the implications in relation to
genetic diversity.
Relevant links
International Seed Trade Association
- Website: ISTA
- Description: Directory of (formal) seed organizations and
associations
Website: International Plant Name Index (IPNI)
- Website: IPNI
- Description: "The International Plant Names Index (IPNI)
is a database of the names and associated basic bibliographical
details of all seed plants, ferns and fern allies. Its goal
is to eliminate the need for repeated reference to primary
sources for basic bibliographic information about plant names.
The data are freely available and are gradually being standardized
and checked. IPNI will be a dynamic resource, depending on
direct contributions by all members of the botanical community.
IPNI is the product of a collaboration between The Royal Botanic
Gardens, Kew, The Harvard University Herbaria, and the Australian
National Herbarium."
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