ACCESS TO QUALITY SEED FOR FOOD & NUTRITION SECURITY
This is a new focus of the partnership and intended outcome. In Ethiopia, where conflict and disaster have severely disrupted farmers’ access to quality seed of diverse crops and varieties. This has resulted in chronic seed insecurity and increased vulnerability in livelihoods. Emergency seed responses have often been hastily implemented,inappropriate for the context, and have disrupted the market, risking the overall performance of seed systems. The partnership’s intended outcome is to introduce new, improved, and climate-resilient varieties of food and feed crops to seed-insecure areas. This will be complemented by additional outputs to support the development of resilient seed systems.
HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS ARE FIT FOR PURPOSE
Conflict sensitivity analysis and SSSAs will be carried out to generate the evidence needed to better inform interventions and strengthen humanitarian efforts. The following additional activities are planned:
- Practicing market-based responses: this concerns direct seed distribution in conflict, post-conflict, and emergency situations, ensuring that responses are guided by the ten principles of good practice and do no harm to nascent and emerging seed markets.
- Developing options for strategic seed reserves: to ensure that farmers have access to quality seed in the event of crisis or disruption, strategic seed reserves will be established as a safety-net mechanism and response option to seed insecurity.
SATRENGTHENING FARMER- AND COMMUNITY-BASED SEED SYSTEMS
The Partnership will employ participatory approaches to pinpoint crop varieties that are well-suited to local conditions. Throughout this process, the focus will be on embracing crop diversity to expand the range of choices accessible to farmers, encompassing nutrient-rich
and climate-resilient varieties of pulses, oilseeds, and vegetatively propagated crops.
Additionally, there will be a concerted effort to promote feed crops such as forage, pasture, and grain legumes in areas where livestock plays a significant role in the economic wellbeing of farmers. Activities include, but are not limited to:
- Boosting crop diversity preferred by farmers facing climaterelated shocks, stresses, and uncertainty;
- Establishing sustainable community seed banks – we willestablish in particularly remote, post-conflict, and disasteraffected areas where farmers face chronic seed insecurity andwhere the commercial delivery of certified seed is untenable
- BuildingStrengthening CSBs – We will contribute to increased seedexchanges, improved access to novel crop diversity, greatersaving of traditional varieties, and enhanced access, use andexchange of related knowledge; human resources capacity – we intend to organize tailor-made training forservice providers that have seen staff displaced by conflict.
- Facilitating linkages between seed supply and demand – toexpand the frontiers of existing seed markets by incentivizingdomestic seed businesses and international companies.
REHABILITATING SEED SERVICE PROVISION
We will assess capacity needs to rehabilitate seed service provision where it was disrupted by conflict. Such services include seed quality assurance, processing, storage, and distribution. Related activities include:
- Outlining plans of reinitiating seed service provision – we will assess the levels of damageand investment needed, and divide tasks in getting things off the ground again;
- Coordinating with relevant other initiatives –we will coordinate with other projects toavoid duplication and/or antagonism of effort;
- Building human resources capacity – we intend to organize tailor-made training forservice providers that have seen staff displaced by conflict.
You must be logged in to post a comment.