Living in parallel Worlds? Lessons from FAC and STEPS research on formal and formal seed systems in Kenya –

implications for biosafety regulation in practice

Workshop held at the African Institute for Capacity Development (AICAD), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and

Technology (JKUAT)

15-16 November 2010

Hannington Odame

CABE – Centre for African Bio-Entrepreneurship (CABE)

Email: hsodame@gmail.com

Key messages 1. Both formal and informal seed systems are important channels for delivering

cereal seeds to Kenyan farmers --but the policy frameworks, which are informed by international seed policies and conventions, tend to favour the formal systems.

2. Coconverging notion of the ‘agro-dealer’ as the carrier of improved seeds to farmers --but due to different politics and interests, actors also support parallel activities seem to undermine development and expansion of the agro-dealer network in some places.

3. Capacity building for agro-dealers is useful –but if agro-dealers are to deliver a GR in Kenya, capacity training programmes for agro-dealers should not only target the business owners but also ‘managers’

4. The universalising of agro-dealer narrative in GR programmes overlooks the heterogeneity of the ‘poor smallholder farmers’ and agro-dealers themselves. –Thus meeting the needs of farmers in lower potential areas require developing innovative alternative business models.

5. The GR programmes have been viewed by critics as a ‘Trojan horse’ for genetically modified (GM) seeds or simply a strategy to ‘roll out a gene revolution’ in Africa –But careful consideration is needed before loading agro-dealers with even greater responsibilities and expectations.

Background

• Cereals grown in Kenya: maize, wheat, sorghum, millet, rice, barley and oats;

• Maize occupies about 50% of total cultivated area & 78 percent of cereal area;

• Following liberalization, cereal production has remained below consumption requirement;

• Government and partners have called for a ‘Green Revolution’ (GR) to reverse this trend;

• Among key strategies is increased generation, promotion & use of modern inputs & technologies;

• Agro-dealers’ role in distributing inputs has earned them recognition in the recent past.

Cereal Seed Systems

Seed systems Formal – Mainly supplies

maize seed and high rainfall areas

Informal – Mainly supplies seed of other cereals and low rainfall areas

Main Actors Ministry of Agriculture KEPHIS Research Institutions Seed Companies Donors/NGOs Farmers

High Maize Potential ZoneWestern Highlands

Central HighlandsEastern Lowlands

Coastal Lowlands

0

25

50

75

100

90

64

52

13

Use of Formal Maize Seed in Different Agro-regions of Kenya

Source: Authors using data from Ayieko and Tschirley 2006

% F

arm

ers

Seed demand and supply for main cereal crops (2005)

Crop Formal seed (%) Informal seed (%)Maize 62 38

Sorghum 35 65Millet 24 76

Rice 24 76Source: Adapted from Ayieko and Tschirley 2006.

Field and Panel Data Sites

Sakai, Mbooni East – Low Potential

Likuyani, Kakamega – High Potential

Ngecha, Nakuru – Medium Potential

STEPS and FAC research on seed systems

STEPS: Concerns about maize innovation and climate change

Phase 1: Characterising and analysing responses to dynamic changes in different agroecologies (low, medium and High):

Phase 2: Multicriteria mapping of ‘pathways in and out of maize’•9 core pathways in drought-prone farming regions (viz. Sakai):

FAC: Political economy of Cereal Seed Systems in Kenya

Phase 1: Can Agro-dealers Deliver The Green Revolution in Kenya?

Phase 2: The political economy issues of agro-dealers delivering genetically modified (GM) cereal seeds in Kenya?

Issues in STEPS: Phase I & II

• ‘Why maize?’ understanding the ‘lock in’ to the dominant maize pathway; revealing alternative pathways

• ‘Resilience’ and scale? – ‘High potential’ – hybrids/intensification

and commercialisation/aggregate production and national food security

– ‘Low potential’ – OPVs/ diversification/ context responsiveness

• ‘Parallel universes’? – innovation systems and upward linkages from farmers to breeders and donors local knowledge, feedback on adoption/disadoption/ preferences are missing – how to build the connections?

Typology of PathwaysLow Maize High Maize

Low-ExternalInput

High-ExternalInput

1 – Alternative dryland staples for subsistence

2 – Alternative dryland staples for market

3 – local improvement of local maize

5 – Assisted seed multiplication of maize

4 – Assisted seed multiplication of alternative dryland staples

6 – Individual high-value crop commercialization

7 – Group-based high-value crop commercialization

8 – Commercial delivery of new DT maize varieties

9 – Public delivery of new DT maize varieties

See Briefing Paper 3 for details

Living in parallel worlds or bridging informal and formal seed systems?

Formal seed System Need for a GR in Kenya (Africa) Need for increased use of modern farming

inputs – requires increased access by farmers• Agro-dealers needed to supply inputs &

information (photos)

Informal seed system Informal seed systems or farmers seed systems

depend on the free exchange of seeds either through small gifts, barter exchange or sale.

Systems provide 80-100% of seed requirements

Majority of the genetic diversity maintained on-farm is managed by small scale agriculture in which farmers’ seed systems dominate

A farmer buying improved maize seed from an agro-dealer

Seed selector, SakaiOn seed selectors... the law is silent. But we know they are there. They play an important role in food security” (Regulator, January 2009):

Informal seed systems in Sakai

Strengths

• Affordable and availability of varieties with low external input use• Varieties are early maturing, drought tolerant and more pest-resistant

• Existing traditional knowledge in seed selection, seed preservation,

Seed bulking and seed banking

Limits:• Limited availability of required qualities especially after droughts, low

market prices and narrow distribution span• Low yields, genetic erosion, emergence of new pests, drought • Limited availability germplasm, un-assured seed quality, problem of

seed differentiation, ack of capacity for community- based production, • Lack of recognition by government.seeds

Policy Options for Informal seed systems

Policy options:

• R&D in preservation and conservation of local varieties

• Options for regulating informal systems-legal framework to recognize informal systems –especially it is suggested that the Seeds and Plant Variety Act Cap 326 should be reviewed.

• Capacity building-interlinking formal and informal system on production, storage and distribution

Formal Seed Systems

Strengths • Systems mainly deal with hybrids and specialized horticultural crops • National Seed Policy is based UPOV 1978, Cap 326 under review • Assured seed quality• Kenyan formal (e.g. Hybrid maize) is recognised as good seed –with

penetration to regional markets (Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, southern Sudan)

Limits:• Certified seeds accounts for 20% (35,000 MT) of the total seed use• Seed maize accounting for about 80% of the total quantity• most of the breeders are improved seed maize • Limited formal seed systems reach in low rainfall areas

Agro-dealer Participation in GR: Programmes & Actors

Programme Implemented by Donor

Kenya Agro-dealer Strengthening Programme (KASP)

CNFA/AGMARK, GoK, Equity Bank

AGRA,IFAD

National Accelerated Agricultural Inputs Access Programme (NAAIAP)

MoA, CNFA/AGMARK, Equity

GoK

Maize Seed for the Poor (MSP)

CIMMYT, IFPRI, KARI, STAK, Equity

USAID, ASTA

Remarks• Program narratives: Low agricultural production

linked to farmers’ lack of access to inputs• Challenges: Targeting, Agro-dealers lack capacity (capital)• More benefits for high rainfall areas & larger agro-dealers• ‘Parallel’ government programs bypassing agro-dealers

Policy implication for biosafety regulation and practice

•Regulation: Regulations are concerned only with formal seed supply channels – they by-pass the informal seed systems

•Acceptance: If GM seeds are of hybrid type then thy are unlikely fit into the informal seed system because farmers have always to buy a fresh seed system and cannot be multiplied

•Seed and info delivery: Agro-dealers of the future will deliver novel technologies and allied information for a uniquely GR such as GM seed --But careful consideration is needed before loading agro-dealers with even greater responsibilities and expectations.

•Capacity: Biosafety regulation has been focused on capacity building at the national level and, so far, not with farmers and intermediaries

• Awareness: Some farmers have been sensitized against use of GM seeds and therefore, agro-dealers may find themselves at crossroads.

Summary:

Is informal seed system a distinct system or a ‘stage’ in transition to formal seed system?

Do assisted informal seed programs important in improved seed use or seed production?

Thank You(Asante Sana!)Contact Address:

Centre for African Bio-Entrepreneurship (CABE)

Email: hsodame@gmail.com