In February 2025, Nigerian seed sector stakeholders came together to jointly explore new evidence-based strategies to strengthen seed insecurity responses in Nigeria’s fragile regions.

The workshop represented a collaboration between ISSD Africa and the Collaborative Seed Programme of Nigeria (CSP Nigeria). With representatives and partners from both programmes in attendance, diverse Nigerian and international experiences made for an enlightening and purposedul two days of discussion and debate.

Workshop objectives:

  1. Increased connection between Nigerian and international organisations working towards strengthening the performance of the seed sector in the fragile regions of Nigeria;
  2. Increased awareness and understanding of good seed aid practices, market-based intervention strategies and modalities to improve the functioning of Nigeria’s institutional seed markets;
  3. Increased awareness and understanding of the opportunities to support community-based seed production and build resilience across farmer-managed seed systems;
  4. Increased awareness of the repertoire of evidence-based knowledge and decision-making resources to support organisations working on these topics.

Key workshop outcomes

Below you can access a summary report of the event. Listed here are key workshop outcomes that give impetus for future dialogue and action:

  1. Partners within the Nigerian seed sector embrace the need for collaboratively developed and endorsed guidance to strengthen collective efforts to strengthen seed security in Nigeria’s fragile and conflict-affected regions. The 10 Principles for Good Seed Aid were welcomed as a valuable starting point on which to underpin multistakeholder dialogue towards more transparent, informed, reliable and standardised processes.
  2. Nigerian seed sector stakeholders call for more consistent and systematic engagement in planning, decision-making and strategy formulation. Partners accept the leading role that NASC has to play in coordinating the sector, but expect for more opportunities and regular modalities to support NASC and contribute to decisions and processes that guide their efforts.
  3. Partners in particular call for modalities to more structurally engage Farmer- and Community-Managed Seed System actors in the shaping and implementation of strategies. Doing so is essential to ensure that humanitarian seed interventions are suited to local realities and make use of the key capacities of community-based seed producers to produce seed of commercially-neglected varieties that farmers demand.
  4. Seed sector partners call for the rollout of a system of longer-term seed procurement contracts that give the necessary confidence and predictability to invest in capacity building and that prevent ad hoc unsustainable practices. Doing so is essential to boost transparency, accountability, enforcement and trust. Further, partners call for modalities to ensure verifiably suitable companies are selected for engagement in institutional markets and/or
    humanitarian seed responses.
  5. Seed sector partners call for modalities to ensure that humanitarian organisations’ experiences with implementing market-based approaches are scaled and institutionalised. This is essential to support and protect local markets, companies and support farmers’ access to appropriate quality seed.
  6. Finally, partners attending the conference call for the event to be a catalyst for concerted efforts to strengthen the seed sector in Nigeria’s fragile areas. Whereas past events and initiatives have created short-term discussion, this event should be the kick-start for momentum towards systemic change. Partners call on NASC to lead this change
    and offer their ongoing support and partnership.
Download the summary report here