Laws and regulations enabling and restricting Africa’s vegetable seed sector
Farmers in sub-Saharan Africa do not have much choice of quality seed of vegetable cultivars adapted to local growing conditions and consumer demand. Only a handful of vegetable seed companies invest in local breeding research, while nearly all rely on seed imports. Our objective was to analyse to w...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2023-12-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2023.2210005 |
| _version_ | 1797680438263676928 |
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| author | Katrin A. Kuhlmann Tara Francis Indulekha Thomas Pepijn Schreinemachers |
| author_facet | Katrin A. Kuhlmann Tara Francis Indulekha Thomas Pepijn Schreinemachers |
| author_sort | Katrin A. Kuhlmann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Farmers in sub-Saharan Africa do not have much choice of quality seed of vegetable cultivars adapted to local growing conditions and consumer demand. Only a handful of vegetable seed companies invest in local breeding research, while nearly all rely on seed imports. Our objective was to analyse to what extent existing seed laws and regulations enable or restrict the development of a research-based vegetable seed sector in Africa. Using a regulatory value chain approach, we analysed written laws and regulations for 13 countries and interviewed private and public sector stakeholders. We generally find that countries have taken a government-centred approach to seed quality control without recognizing that government agencies have little capacity to do this properly for vegetable crops. Mandatory Value for Cultivation and Use (VCU) trials and state-controlled seed certification are the two examples of regulatory approaches that may work for cereals but are not well suited for vegetables. No country has vegetable breeding as a goal in their national seed policy, and only four set out specific objectives for the vegetable seed sector. Tailoring seed policies, laws and regulations more specifically to vegetables could stimulate local variety development and seed production and benefit smallholder farmers and consumers at large. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:30:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a4c255bedb2d41b0a42ab2fd0dcf77bf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1473-5903 1747-762X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:30:02Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj.art-a4c255bedb2d41b0a42ab2fd0dcf77bf2023-09-20T10:18:01ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Agricultural Sustainability1473-59031747-762X2023-12-0121110.1080/14735903.2023.22100052210005Laws and regulations enabling and restricting Africa’s vegetable seed sectorKatrin A. Kuhlmann0Tara Francis1Indulekha Thomas2Pepijn Schreinemachers3New Markets LabNew Markets LabNew Markets LabWorld Vegetable CenterFarmers in sub-Saharan Africa do not have much choice of quality seed of vegetable cultivars adapted to local growing conditions and consumer demand. Only a handful of vegetable seed companies invest in local breeding research, while nearly all rely on seed imports. Our objective was to analyse to what extent existing seed laws and regulations enable or restrict the development of a research-based vegetable seed sector in Africa. Using a regulatory value chain approach, we analysed written laws and regulations for 13 countries and interviewed private and public sector stakeholders. We generally find that countries have taken a government-centred approach to seed quality control without recognizing that government agencies have little capacity to do this properly for vegetable crops. Mandatory Value for Cultivation and Use (VCU) trials and state-controlled seed certification are the two examples of regulatory approaches that may work for cereals but are not well suited for vegetables. No country has vegetable breeding as a goal in their national seed policy, and only four set out specific objectives for the vegetable seed sector. Tailoring seed policies, laws and regulations more specifically to vegetables could stimulate local variety development and seed production and benefit smallholder farmers and consumers at large.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2023.2210005seed systemseed policyseed regulationseed certificationregional harmonizationplant varietyprivate sectorplant variety protectionplant breeding |
| spellingShingle | Katrin A. Kuhlmann Tara Francis Indulekha Thomas Pepijn Schreinemachers Laws and regulations enabling and restricting Africa’s vegetable seed sector International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability seed system seed policy seed regulation seed certification regional harmonization plant variety private sector plant variety protection plant breeding |
| title | Laws and regulations enabling and restricting Africa’s vegetable seed sector |
| title_full | Laws and regulations enabling and restricting Africa’s vegetable seed sector |
| title_fullStr | Laws and regulations enabling and restricting Africa’s vegetable seed sector |
| title_full_unstemmed | Laws and regulations enabling and restricting Africa’s vegetable seed sector |
| title_short | Laws and regulations enabling and restricting Africa’s vegetable seed sector |
| title_sort | laws and regulations enabling and restricting africa s vegetable seed sector |
| topic | seed system seed policy seed regulation seed certification regional harmonization plant variety private sector plant variety protection plant breeding |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2023.2210005 |
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