A PLAN has been launched to enhance Africa’s participation in a seed certification scheme, as part of wider efforts to strengthen agricultural activity and its contribution to economic development on the continent.
A joint G7-Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) initiative, it aims to improve seed quality, boost yields and farmer incomes and strengthen agricultural productivity across Africa.
It was launched last week during a meeting of G7 agriculture ministers in Syracuse, Italy.
The OECD Seed Schemes provide an international framework for the certification of agricultural seeds in international trade, facilitating the movement of seeds across borders by harmonising certification standards and procedures.
Sound seed certification is expected to improve domestic production, help develop export markets and provide farmers, plant breeders and authorities with reassurance on seed quality.
Currently, 62 countries participate in the seed schemes, which have been adopted into national legislation in countries worldwide.
‘Better food systems start with better seeds, [and] since the 1960s, OECD seed schemes have been certifying the varietal identity and purity of seed lots destined for international trade, ultimately ensuring farmers can trust the seed they are buying,’ OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said.
‘This new G7-OECD Joint Initiative, the first of its kind, holds the promise of making a substantial impact on African agriculture, by providing farmers with affordable and accessible seeds capable of responding to the effects of climate change and other unpredictable situations, boosting yields and income for farmers, and ultimately enhancing food security and agricultural productivity across the continent.’
The initiative aims to improve African countries’ capacity to effectively certify seeds that will reduce fraud, strengthen crop yields and boost the growth potential of the agricultural sector in Africa.
The new G7-OECD initiative will expand uptake of the seed certification scheme to up to 14 African countries over a five-year period.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), between 713 million and 757 million people may have faced hunger in 2023 – one out of 11 people in the world – and the prevalence of food insecurity has remained consistently higher among women globally and in all regions, since data first became available in 2015.
In Africa, the region with the largest percentage of the population facing food shortages, 298.4 million people may have gone hungry in 2023.
In a communique after their meeting, the G7 agriculture ministers noted: ‘Agriculture and food systems are the backbone of sustainable development, playing a fundamental role for a prosperous future of African countries.’
The continent itself has been making efforts to boost food production under its Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), which aims to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty and malnutrition by increasing economic growth through agriculture-led development.
During the 2014 African Union summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, leaders adopted agricultural goals to be achieved by 2025.
The leaders agreed that agriculture should remain high on Africa’s development agenda, and a critical policy initiative for the continent’s economic growth and poverty reduction.
The post-Malabo 2026-2035 agricultural strategy and action plan is expected to be adopted
as the Kampala CAADP declaration in 2025.
In the run-up to Kampala, 5.5 million small-scale farmers in 17 African countries have urged African countries to ratify the declaration.
They called for ‘food sovereignty and agroecology [to] be mainstreamed in the next 10 years of CAADP implementation to ensure that Africa is not only food and nutrition secure but with promoted biodiversity and protected against the danger of food dependency or import sanction.’
