Currently, with the possible exception of certain commercial crops (i.e. cotton), the majority of West African agriculture is at a subsistence level, and most of the land is cultivated by smallholder farmers. For the most part, farmers rely on saved seed or seed sourced through informal networks. These sources tend to be inconsistent in terms of quality, vulnerable to new pests and diseases and, while cheap, take up valuable land due to extremely low productivity. Fertilizer or chemical inputs tend to be wasted on this seed. Therefore, although the cost of inputs may currently be low, the cost per ton of output is exceedingly high, profitability is low and smallholder farmers are trapped in a cycle of low productivity, which prevents them from generating a marketable surplus.

Improved seed varieties and other inputs (fertilizer and crop protection products) are imperative to the transformation of the agricultural sector from subsistence farming to small-scale commercial agriculture. However, this transformation will take time. Until small producers are linked to reliable input and output markets, they will hesitate to take the risk of investing in improved inputs.

The goal of the West Africa Seed Alliance (WASA) is to establish a sustainable commercial seed industry capable of ensuring that small-scale farmers have affordable, timely and reliable access to adapted genetics and traits in high quality seeds and planting materials. WASA is playing a leading role in the growth and development of viable agricultural inputs systems, supporting the overall growth of the West Africa agricultural sector and improving the agricultural enabling environment.

Funded primarily by AGRA and USAID, this five-year, multilateral public-private sector alliance will be executed in partnership with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Seed Science Centre of Iowa State University (SSC-ISU), with the cooperation of other regional and local partners. The Alliance is committed to partnering with African institutions to ensure local ownership and sustainability of seed industry activities. WASA also supports an African-led agenda by improving trade-related capacities for market access, enhancing the food supply and developing agricultural research to sustain long-term productivity growth.

WASA has two major thrusts—policy environment and agricultural productivity. Under the agricultural productivity pillar, CNFA is responsible for:

• strengthening the linkages between local agrodealers, seed companies, financial institutions and farmers
• improving smallholder farmer access to improved agricultural inputs and agronomic practices through rural agrodealers
• developing the entrepreneurial abilities of agrodealers and other downstream players in the value chain through business management training
• stimulating increased use of hybrid seeds and agricultural practices through demand creation activities
• linking smallholders to output markets through agrodealers

In conjunction with ICRISAT, CNFA is actively implementing the following initiatives in Ghana, Niger, Nigeria and Mali:

• The resulting maps and database of GIS mapping of agrodealers and seed producers are vital tools in determining the areas of intervention. GIS maps potentially indicate under-served areas, relationships between agrodealers and seed producers in relation to certain cropping patterns, poverty levels, etc.
• Agrodealer business training, based on CNFA’s franchised 6-module agrodealer business management training program, focuses on basic business management skills and aspects for managing distribution of multiple product lines (seeds, fertilizer, tools and crop protection products).
• Agrodealer training in product usage builds the capacity of agrodealers through training in product handling and usage by input-supply companies themselves.
• Using demonstration plots and field days, WASA will work with Agrodealers to organize demonstration plots and farmer field days, in cooperation with input supply companies.
• WASA will assist seed companies and associations to establish seed marketing and information strategies.
• CNFA will draw on private sector partners to build the business capacity of the local seed company managers through training on business planning, supply chain management and marketing.
• WASA will link agrodealers and farmer producer groups to commodity traders and crop processors to create market pull for farmer production.

Related Links

With Training, Mali Agrodealer Becomes Local Livestock Expert

Program Overview: West Africa Seed Alliance