Uganda Early Generation Seed Study : Unlocking Pathways for Sustainable Provision of EGS for Food Crops in Uganda

One of the major bottlenecks limiting farmers’ access to good quality seed for food crops in Uganda is the shortage of early generation seed (EGS - breeder and foundation) to produce sufficient quantities of certified and/or quality declared) to satisfy the needs of farmers. A national study was conducted between October 2015 to March 2016 to analyse pathways for promoting commercial and sustainable production and delivery of EGS. Five crops (hybrid maize, rice, beans, sesame and finger millet) were selected. The analysis provides real examples of potential business models that could scale in a commercially sustainable manner. For areas that are best suited to public sector investment, opportunities for public-private collaboration and increased efficiencies in the sector are outlined. Generalizable principles and recommendations to guide key stakeholders as they pursue policies, investments, and interventions are proposed

Designing self-sustaining early generation seed supply systems: The must-dos

Shortages in the supply of quality early generation seed (EGS) of new and improved varieties, particularly of dryland cereals and legumes is a major challenge because of the business models.This triggers the following questions: what EGS business models would sustainably avail quality parent seed? To investigate this, we documented 16 EGS interventions. We found that pre-securing seed market ahead of production played important role in the successful seed business. Taking different forms (e.g., pre-orders, demand forecasting, pre-aggregation of demand, joint planning,contractual agreement), it brings confidence to EGS producers to continuously invest in the business and make it profitable. For sustainable EGS production and supply in sub-Saharan Africa, we advocate for market assurance in advance. Two guiding principles are also suggested and four recommendations formulated

Institutionalizing quality declared seed in Uganda

Farmer-led seed enterprises can produce good quality seed and market it. However, for them to thrive, they need a conducive policy and regulatory framework that is inclusive and less stringent than existing regulatory frameworks. One way to provide a more enabling environment for farmer-led enterprises is through the Quality Declared Seed (QDS) production and marketing system. In Uganda, this seed class is specifically introduced for farmer-led enterprises to produce and market quality assured seed of crops and varieties not served by the private sector. The class is anchored in the Ugandan National Seed Policy and its seed regulations and its operationalization plan. We identified a combination of three strategies that enabled the QDS class to be incorporated into the National Seed Policy. These were: (i) to generate evidence to demonstrate that local seed businesses (farmer groups) can produce and market quality seed; (ii) to engage stakeholders towards an inclusive seed policy; and (iii) to develop a separate QDS regulatory framework. By 2021, institutionalization has reached a critical mass. Areas of attention for full institutionalization are the decentralization of inspection services, awareness and demand creation for quality seed, increasing the number of seed producers, and solving shortages of basic seed (starting material for producing seed)

Utilizing conjoint analysis to design modern crop varieties: empirical example for groundnut in Niger

Preferences for monetary and non-monetary plant traits influence modem crop variety adoption decisions of farmers. To enhance adoption probability of modem crop varieties, it is necessary to identify and focus research on traits that significantly contribute to utility while de-emphasizing insignificant plant attributes. This paper illustrates the potential for applying conjoint analysis to aid the design and targeting of client-responsive modem crop varieties. Farmers ranked eight orthogonally-derived plant trait combinations used in an illustrative example. Utilities were estimated using the choice-probability-based method of ordered probit. Results showed that conjoint analysis can differentiate significant and non-significant traits of modem crop varieties. The usefulness of applying conjoint analysis over identifiable disaggregated groups of a sample was also evident. Future application of conjoint analysis to the design and targeting of modem crop varieties should carefully consider sample composition and size to permit the estimation of relevant sub-models for desired farmer segments