Dear Joseph and Colleagues,

 

Thank you very much for moderating this e-forum discussion, for sharing valuable experiences, and exchanging ideas on the way forward for seed aid/seed system security in the HoA.

 

I concur with suggestions that have been made regarding the need for seed system mapping, seed system security assessments, implementation of regulatory mechanisms, and testing for local adaptation of introduced crop varieties.

 

One issue I would like to raise is that of capacity building for seed companies and seed company staff. This is a specific request from a number of seed companies, some of which have staff with limited technical skills. In additional to technical skills, training on the ethical aspects of seed production/marketing may also be warranted.

 

Ultimately, an innovation system approach is needed, whereby a truly participatory approach is used to determine and implement seed aid-related activities.

 

Best regards,

Mathew

-------------------------

Mathew M. Abang

Crop Production Officer

FAO Sub-Regional Office for Eastern Africa

CMC Road near ILRI, Gurd Shola, Bole Sub City, Kebele 12/13

P.O. Box 5536, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Tel. +251 (0) 116478888 ext 125

Fax. +251 (0) 116478800/80

Email: [log in to unmask]

Cell: +251-935-986406

Skype: mathew.abang

 

 

From: The Community of Practice of Seed Security Assessments for the Horn of Africa [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Arem, Alier
Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2014 5:20 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Unsuitable crop varieties being provided to affected population in the form of seed aid in the horn of Africa region

 

Dear Atem,

I appreciate your inputs in the debate here which I hope is based on the practical experimental research with Jonglei Farmers and having known your personality as  the ‘Technical Lead’ in Jonglei State Ministry of Agriculture. In addition to your input, I hope the ministry is one of the architect and possibly one of those stakeholders that can take a lead role in promoting the improvement of local seed varieties through appropriate extension work, which I hope had been the ministry fundamental issue of concern, promote effective Monitoring and Inspection, registration and certification of seed suppliers or call them Agro-Input dealers, ‘ensure farmers are not too conservatives to upcoming technologies in the seed system’ but give a chance of testing an imported variety whether it fit the question of adaptability.

 

Regard,

Alier Arem Deng

CRS.Org

From: The Community of Practice of Seed Security Assessments for the Horn of Africa [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Atem Gak
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2014 9:08 PM
To:
[log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Unsuitable crop varieties being provided to affected population in the form of seed aid in the horn of Africa region

 

Jonglei State of the Republic of South Sudan is actually the bottom of the Nile Basin, this means it is floods prone mostly and the local crops seeds therefore are floods resistant, however, sorghum is the staple food crop grown all over the State, other crops come in a secondary stage. In this juncture, the seeds imported and distributed by humanitarian organizations are tried several times by the local farming communities but got no impact as to the adaptability and acclimatizing to the new environment from the origin of the seed, secondly, the imported seeds might have been doing well under well advance plant protection techknowledgy and well drained soils, intact different climates suit different varieties of the same crop and each crop variety of the same variety adapt to different climate and region of the world and can do well where ever suitable to it. Researchers should come up with some kind of no boundary organization, raise fund and register itself to discover crops as to their adaptability but not imposing some kind of seed techknowledgy but improve the local as to its locality.
I am not totally disagreeing but experiments on vast varieties of different can be carried out in the State in particular and in the whole of the Country. But I object to the idea of direct distribution to the local farming communities without prior experiment.

Atem de Gak Atem

 


From: Okidi, Joseph (FAOKE) <[log in to unmask]>;
To: <
[log in to unmask]>;
Subject: FW: Unsuitable crop varieties being provided to affected population in the form of seed aid in the horn of Africa region
Sent: Fri, Aug 1, 2014 8:41:15 AM

 

Dear all,

 

Minor correction in the title : Unsuitable Crop varieties but  Not crop parieties.

 

Regards,

 

Joseph

 

From: Okidi, Joseph (FAOKE)
Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2014 10:44 AM
To:
[log in to unmask]
Subject: Unsuitable crop parieties being provided to affected population in the form of seed aid in the horn of Africa region

 

Dear All,

 

 

A lot of humanitarian and recovery work in food security in the Horn of Africa region involves provision of seed aid with significant direct seed distribution of seed sourced from the formal sector (seed companies). There have been concerns from some of the assisted famers in the recent past that some of the varieties are unsuitable (un-adapted and un-preferred). Many times famer’s seed are considered of poor quality by humanitarian actors, and therefore, the need to provide them with quality seeds of varieties which are improved – high yielding, disease resistant, drought tolerant etc.

 

1.      Do you agree that at times unsuitable varieties are being provided in the form of seed aid? What is your experience with this? And do you think this can be improved?

 

2.      Do you think seed security of the crisis/disaster affected population is well assessed and analyzed before any intervention – If not how do you want this improved?

 

3.      Are the views of the affected populations normally well taken into consideration when planning seed related interventions by humanitarian actors?

 

Note: This e-discussion will run until 15th of August.

 

Regards,

 

Joseph Okidi

 

Seed System Specialist

FAO REOA

 

 

 

 


To unsubscribe from the CoP-SeedSecurity-L list, click the following link:
https://listserv.fao.org/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=CoP-SeedSecurity-L&A=1

 


To unsubscribe from the CoP-SeedSecurity-L list, click the following link:
https://listserv.fao.org/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=CoP-SeedSecurity-L&A=1



To unsubscribe from the CoP-SeedSecurity-L list, click the following link:
https://listserv.fao.org/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=CoP-SeedSecurity-L&A=1