Better seed aid starts with better decisions—grounded in farmers’ realities and the systems they rely on.
In times of crisis, seed assistance can help farming households restore production, generate income, and rebuild livelihoods. But effective seed aid must go beyond meeting immediate needs. It should also strengthen the local seed systems, markets, and networks that farmers depend on for recovery and resilience.
The Ten Guiding Principles for Good Seed Aid (10P) have been developed to help improve emergency seed practice, immediately and concretely. They are for policymakers, program managers, and field staff engaged in seed security response. Built on over 30 years of lessons learned, these principles have benefitted from extensive feedback (USAID, UN-FAO, many NGOs) are are available in English, French and Arabic..
Prosper Global’s (formerly Mercy Corps) endorsement of the 10P comes at an important time for the humanitarian sector. Crises are become increasingly frequent and protracted, humanitarian funding is declining, and there is an urgent need for more rigorous, evidence-based, and effective responses.
This endorsement by Prosper Global reinforces a commitment to farmer-centered, context-sensitive, and market-aware seed security programming. Prosper Global invites the wider humanitarian community to embrace the :10P as a foundation for more sustainable seed aid.
How can we make seed aid work better for farmers—not just today, but for the seasons ahead?
Image attribution: PABRA/CIAT / Georgina Smith