News

How to sustainably ensure the availability of quality seed for farmers in West and Central Africa (WCA) was the topic on the agenda at a recent meeting between CORAF and AfricaSeeds, held at the CORAF Executive Secretariat. 

Comprising its Executive Director, Dr Kwame MIEZAN, its Gender Expert, Ms Emilienne GUEI, and the Head of General Services and Resources, Ms Marie-France ESMEL, a delegation from AfricaSeeds visited CORAF's Executive Secretariat at the end of November 2022, to exchange views with the people in charge, on avenues of collaboration and identify synergies to be exploited to improve the availability of quality seeds to growers.

During the session, the Executive Director of AfricaSeeds recalled the importance of seeds for food systems, as they contribute 20 to 40% to agricultural productivity, before stressing the need for joint and coordinated actions with CORAF, for greater impact and to achieve the objectives of agricultural transformation, food and nutritional security and poverty reduction in Africa.

To help build a robust seed industry in WCA, the two organizations intend to collaborate on advocacy, increasing investment in infrastructure and training players. 

AfricaSeeds is an intergovernmental continental organization that promotes, in collaboration with other stakeholders, the development of integrated, efficient, dynamic and sustainable seed systems in Africa.

It is one of the international partners with which CORAF collaborates within the framework of its first pillar of activity, which aims to :

1. increased production, dissemination, use and adoption of improved technologies and innovations in WCA,
2. the promotion of market development and the establishment of public-private partnerships (PPPs) for the development of businesses and value chains, and
3. increasing the impact of technologies and innovations in AOC.