Local Seed Business in the Context of Integrated Seed Sector Development

Quality seed is a key input for agriculture, with a direct impact on agricultural production and productivity. Integrated seed sector development (ISSD) is an inclusive approach that recognizes and builds upon a diversity of seed systems in the sector. We use the ISSD approach to guide us in the design and implementation of seed sector interventions that are complementary to farmers’practices, with the main aim of increasing farmers’ access to quality seed of superior varieties. In working with the ISSD approach, we recognize a number of guiding principles. In this paper, we describe these principles, and provide examples of how we work with the system of local seed business (LSB) in the ISSD programs in Ethiopia and Uganda. We recognize that LSBs offer an important service to communities by providing access to quality seed of crops and varieties that cannot be obtained reliably through other sources. The guiding principles help us to work towards the development of sustainable LSBs. Within the context of ISSD Africa we will continue to investigate and design interventions to address challenges in seed sector development, focusing on aselect number of themes that are relevant to the LSB context

Analysis of particle production in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions within a two-source statistical model

The experimental data on hadron yields and ratios in central lead-lead and gold-gold collisions at 158 AGeV/$c$ (SPS) and $\sqrt{s} = 130$ AGeV (RHIC), respectively, are analysed within a two-source statistical model of an ideal hadron gas. A comparison with the standard thermal model is given. The two sources, which can reach the chemical and thermal equilibrium separately and may have different temperatures, particle and strangeness densities, and other thermodynamic characteristics, represent the expanding system of colliding heavy ions, where the hot central fireball is embedded in a larger but cooler fireball. The volume of the central source increases with rising bombarding energy. Results of the two-source model fit to RHIC experimental data at midrapidity coincide with the results of the one-source thermal model fit, indicating the formation of an extended fireball, which is three times larger than the corresponding core at SPS.Comment: 6 pages, REVTEX

Community Biodiversity Management and Empowerment : Documentation of the Sites included in a Global Study

This document contains comprehensive descriptions of all the sites in which the Global CBM Study was conducted. For brevity, future publications sharing results, conclusions and experiences of the Global CBM Study will omit such detailed descriptions and instead will provide reference to this publication as a supplementary source for those data

Guiding sector transformation: Power strategies of a non-state actor in the centrally planned seed sector of Ethiopia

After years of political turmoil and the rise to power of Abiy Ahmed as prime minister in 2018, the ‘developmental state’ as a model for economic growth and development was jettisoned – at least discursively – and the government set a reform agenda focused on democratisation and liberalisation. However, central planning is still deeply rooted in the seed sector and seed plays the role of political commodity. Governance and transformation processes find themselves in a complex – if not contradictory – environment in Ethiopia that on the one hand stimulates market-led and participatory approaches but on the other sustains hierarchy and political control. Our study draws from the literature on cross-sector partnerships and explores the role and strategies of facilitators of Integrated Seed Sector Development in mobilising sources of power to exercise control over the Regional Seed Core Group – a new governance arena – and in its contribution to transforming the seed sector. We attribute part of the success of their strategies to carefully blending hierarchical with collaborative modes of governance and strategically mobilising power of a formal authority. This first insight offers a contribution to the literature on collaborative governance that is predominantly based on cases from western societies and mature democracies. Our second insight is that ideational power from a non-state actor is a much-needed counterweight to formal authority. And third, whilst mobilising political power may be necessary in a context like Ethiopia – where having formal authority is a key asset for getting things done – it is not without risks. We share these insights not only for scientific debate, but also for policymakers and practitioners attempting to transform systems in similar contexts with a long tradition of centralising power

Going for gold in innovation partnerships responsive to food insecurity in Africa : The role of knowledge institutes - Volume 2: Five case studies

The Dutch ‘gouden driehoek’ (golden triangle) refers to successful partnership in agricultural development between government, sector and knowledge institutes. This has been key in securing food & nutrition in the Netherlands. Could this model be applied to African conditions and be the basis for similar success in relation to food & nutrition security? This report is part of the documentation of an exploration in relation to this question. It documents five examples of effective roles of knowledge institutes in the context of agriculture and fisheries innovation in Afric