Session facilitators and speakers:
- Meseret Getahun, Mercy Corps
- Garikai Mugaya, Mercy Corps
- Claudine Murerwa, IFDC
- Justin Miteng, IFDC
- Sarah Mayanja, CIP
Seed market systems (formal, informal, intermediary) consist of interconnected and interdependent sets of actors – such as farmers, plant breeders, seed multipliers, traders – supported by market functions that include transportation, information services, financial services, and rules, such as social norms, seed trade protocols, regulations and standards. Market-based strategies frequently target essential market functions, businesses, and institutions to improve the functioning of the system as a whole. If applied correctly, market-based strategies can improve the capacity of markets to provide farmers and households with critical goods and services on an ongoing basis, such as seed and advisory services, with greater reach and adaptability than humanitarian agencies can achieve through recipient-focused seed interventions. The challenge for the humanitarian, development and peace (HDP) community is to collectively identify and adopt market-based practices and strategies capable of building seed sector performance and resilience in fragile and even conflict-affected contexts. This includes engaging with the private sector to better understand the impact of shocks and stresses on their performance and what is needed to build seed sector resilience.
This session highlighted how seed systems and associated markets are often disrupted by crises in fragile contexts, ultimately impacting food system functioning in the area. Participants heard an overview of the market systems framework for fragile contexts and how traditional seed aid approaches (cash, vouchers, and direct distribution) may impact the functioning of market systems, together with examples of market-based programming including Burundi, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia. Participants had time to discuss the examples and share their experiences of strategies and business models that are effective in fragile contexts. During the session participants discussed: how market systems development (MSD) approaches can be applied in different contexts, seed delivery systems for sweet potatoes, establishment of a revolving fund to sustain indigenous production, dissemination of seed info through various channels such as radio and whatsappp, last mile agent models and mini packs for agrodealers, as well as barriers to policy regulation, in kind distribution which distorts the market, regulatory systems and infiltration of sub-standard seeds and seed certification.
Key points & recommendations:
- Direct seed aid may address immediate needs, but doesn’t improve seed systems over the longer term, and can undermine formal and informal seed market systems.
- Private sector actors, including traders, are often able to operate in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.
- Vegetatively propagated seed need to be considered together with other seed types but also have different requirements.
- Identify how we can bring best market-based practice into fragile contexts – we have existing knowledge and best practices on market-based programming but how do we apply that to fragile contexts and what is most effective.
- Identify what models are working in humanitarian contexts, or in other contexts that can be applied to fragile contexts, e.g. last mile agent/agrodealer models, early generation seed through private actor engagement and scaling.
- Establish a coordination platform to influence and coordinate around market-based seed system activities, especially in humanitarian and fragile contexts to facilitate: information sharing, learning, standardizing implementation, donor and government regulations