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In response to a recent call from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West African Ministers of Agriculture and Food, CORAF is making significant changes to its programmatic priorities to support the smallholder farmers, seed companies and seed cooperatives that are increasingly affected by COVID-19.

Vulnerable farmers, businesses and decision-makers are at the heart of CORAF's COVID-19 initiative for emergency seed support. With the help of the national seed systems of ECOWAS member countries, CORAF's intervention will be implemented through an online information, advice and alert system. This digital system will make it possible to collect, process and disseminate essential, up-to-date information on the availability of first-generation seeds (pre-basic and basic) and certified seeds in each country, access points, quality and traceability, and market information (global supply, potential demand, session prices, etc.).

Various countries have adopted strict measures to contain the Coronavirus. These measures range from partial or total confinement of populations, to limiting people's mobility, to closing borders and urban, peri-urban and rural markets, thereby disrupting the supply chain for foodstuffs and agricultural inputs.

"While these measures have had positive effects on slowing the spread of COVID-19, the unintended consequences could be higher commodity prices, insufficient access to food for vulnerable people, a drastic drop in the marketing of perishable products, higher transport costs, difficult access to seeds, fertilizers and phytosanitary products, as well as scarcity and high cost of agricultural labor", said His Excellency Sekou Sangare, ECOWAS Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources.

Stemming the looming hunger crisis

CORAF has developed this emergency measure, which primarily guarantees the availability of pre-basic, basic and certified seeds. The system will contain information on how much is available, where it is, with which companies or cooperatives, and the challenges involved in getting it to market or where there is demand. The main aim is to stem the looming hunger crisis.

More than 15 million people are already affected by the difficult food situation, according to the Food Crisis Prevention Network (RPCA), an initiative of the Sahel and West Africa Club. Even before COVID-19, the food system in West Africa was already in a precarious situation, with a security crisis in the Sahel, attacks by the fall armyworm and the threat of locust attacks already present in the eastern bank of the continent. This figure could, in a context without COVID-19, exceed 17 million people in the period from June to August 2020, according to RPCA data.

The RPCA brings together the main players in the West African food and nutrition system. It monitors the food and nutrition situation in West Africa and the Sahel, as well as in Cameroon, and publishes information essential for decision-making and action by political decision-makers and program implementers, as well as the private sector.

What does CORAF's intervention contain?

CORAF's intervention aims to effectively set up an information and monitoring system on seed availability in relation to demand. This makes it easier to put quality seed producers in touch with farmers wishing to obtain such seeds.

This system will not only improve farmers' access to better quality seeds and planting material, but also help them better understand the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on lives and livelihoods.

Initially, the information will cover cereals such as maize, rice, sorghum, millet, cowpeas and groundnuts, before being extended to roots and tubers such as cassava, yams and potatoes.

The emergency initiative to support seeds and other planting material will cover the 15 ECOWAS countries, plus Chad and Mauritania. It will align with and complement the information tools designed for the West Africa Fertilizer Observatory, developed by IFDC.

CORAF's response to the COVID-19 pandemic also aims to ensure that there are no non-essential restrictions on the import/export, distribution and use of quality seed by farmers, growers and other users. All of which will help strengthen the resilience of the sub-region's agricultural system and prevent a food crisis.

"Under cover of the COVID-19 pandemic, first-generation and certified seeds should not be banned from cross-border movement or subjected to unjustified trade restrictions at regional level," says Dr. Yacouba Diallo, a seed expert with decades of experience in the West African seed sector.

IFDC already provides farmers, producers, policy makers and other key players with essential information on the availability and fluidity of fertilizer movement at community level. CORAF intends to work closely with other actors to ensure the provision of an integrated input information package.

The Partnership for Agricultural Research, Education and Development program, implemented by CORAF and funded by USAID West Africa, will be responsible for collecting, processing and disseminating this updated information to farmers, seed companies, government officials and other key partners.

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