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CORAF launches a regional network of women seed entrepreneurs

• The mission of the regional network of women seed entrepreneurs is to promote women's entrepreneurship in the seed sector;
• It will help women in the sector to forge strategic partnerships, make their voices heard and lobby;
• An ad hoc provisional board was set up to finalize the formalization of the regional network.

The capacity-building workshop for women entrepreneurs in seed production and marketing, held in Abidjan from April 11 to 15, culminated in the initiative to form a regional network of these women seed business leaders. 

Spearheaded by CORAF, as part of the Partnership for Agricultural Research, Education and Development in West Africa(PAIRED) program, the initiative's primary mission is to promote female entrepreneurship in the seed sector.

The network aims to serve as a melting pot that encourages communication and trade between members, to facilitate their access to markets.

"In West and Central Africa, women seed business owners face difficulties linked to gender inequalities in the sector. The network we have just set up will enable us to pool our efforts and better exploit synergies for a more inclusive and gender-sensitive seed industry in the region", says Dr Mariame MAÏGA, Regional Gender and Social Development Advisor at CORAF.

Members will benefit from ongoing training, consult and harmonize market initiatives and approaches, and more easily forge strategic partnerships.

"Thanks to the support of the regional network, more women and young people will be better established in the seed sector, thus promoting their empowerment," says Dr MAÏGA.

Dr Yacouba DIALLO, Agricultural Inputs Expert at CORAF, sees the network as an opportunity to fill a previously unfulfilled market share.

"With more women in the seed sector, and above all thanks to this network, the seed sector will be much more dynamic in West and Central Africa, giving more farmers access to quality seeds," observes Dr DIALLO.

Network members, who welcome the initiative, see several other advantages.

Ms. Berdiss Mohamed MEIDOUWA, Director of Berdiss Rice in Mauritania, believes that setting up this network will help to break down the prejudices sometimes suffered by women in the seed sector, while supporting women's efforts in this sector where they have a vital role to play.

Influencing politics

Through this regional network, women seed business owners also intend to make their voices heard, and to influence political decisions for the development of the seed sector in the region. 

Ms. Zalissa SAWADOGO of NAFASO, a limited company based in Burkina Faso, explains that "the network should be used to lobby research institutions and financial backers to support the provision of quality inputs".

The Burkinabé businesswoman also calls on stakeholders to open up to the network in order to facilitate market penetration at country level, which used to be no easy task.

Finally, she emphasizes the advocacy role that the regional network will play in increasing the adoption rate of quality seeds.

"The network should help set up demonstration plots, raise awareness through mass communication channels such as radio and television, facilitate the establishment of input stores at the level of the various villages to bring seeds closer to their end users," she asserts.

Read also:

• CORAF strengthens women's skills in seed production and marketing
• The seed sector offers unprecedented opportunities for women in Africa

Provisional ad hoc committee

To help steer the initiative through to completion and finalize the formal set-up procedures, a provisional nine (09) member board was appointed, with Mrs. Aïsha NASSER of the Aïnoma seed farm in Niger as President, and Mrs. SAWADOGO as General Secretary. 

In addition to Dr Caroline MAKAMTO SOBGUI, CORAF's Technology and Innovation Scaling Specialist, Dr MAÏGA and Dr DIALLO form the ad hoc bureau's three (03) Strategic Advisors.

However, all the participants in the Abidjan workshop, i.e. some twenty-five (25) women, are automatically part of the network, and once the final board has been elected, the presidency will rotate for a period of two (02) years.

To ensure the smooth running of the network, a list of recommendations put forward by members, together with a roadmap, has been drawn up. 

These include the integration of the West African Seed Trade Association (WASTA) and the African Seed Trade Association (AFSTA) as network partners.

It is expected that an Abidjan Declaration will be drawn up to endorse the constitution of the regional network of women seed business leaders, with the possibility of organizing a workshop to officially launch it.