Poor farmers need cheap and easy access to quality seeds to improve their livelihoods. In Bangladesh, rice is a particularly important crop for smallholder farmers. What can be done to increase small farmers’ access to seed?

The Bangladeshi government liberalised the formal seed sector in 1998, but the delivery of seed supplies remains inconsistent. Some large non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have developed their own seed systems, but these mainly benefit wealthier farmers. The private sector mainly produces and sells vegetable seed, with little concern for rice.

Seeds developed by the National Rice Research Institute are usually distributed through large NGOs and government agencies, which employ contract farmers to multiply it into ‘certified seed’. This is then sold by dealers and selling centres. Seed rarely reaches smallholder farmers through these pathways.

Recent research from CAB International, UK, and the International Rice Research Institute, Philippines, reports on an innovative approach to decentralised seed production and distribution. The Farmseed model targets poor farmers who have previously had little access to information about new varieties or quality seed. This model was developed by the Agricultural Advisory Society (AAS), a Bangladeshi NGO, in partnership with local NGOs and community-based organisations (CBOs). Official agreements were signed with government organisations for providing foundation seed and technical training.

Farmseed creates a shortcut in the normal supply chain for rice seeds. The programme enables seed farmers to make their produce available in local markets without it being channelled back to NGOs and government agencies for processing and marketing. Foundation seed is packaged in small quantities to match the needs of resource-poor seed farmers who can buy this seed and profit directly by multiplying it. Peer pressure ensures seed quality control. Other farmers participate in variety selection to ensure that they meet local needs. There are several key elements in the programme:

• Training the staff of partner NGOs and CBOs in quality rice seed production has allowed the model to spread.
• Poor farmers are excluded from many credit groups in Bangladesh because they cannot afford to join. Farmseed has no credit component and communities select their poorest members to participate.
• Community training enables men and women to learn about rice seed production and post-harvest technologies.
• A collective of seed producer groups, AAS staff and community members meet during the season to assess seed quality.
• AAS follows up what happens across the country through regular monitoring by local NGOs and CBOs.

Flexibility is vital to the success of any system which aims to support poorer farmers. The Farmseed model allows seed-producing households to use their own strategies to produce, store, consume, sell and exchange seeds.

The success of this model provides some useful policy implications:

• Motivating farmers and developing pro-poor seed enterprises requires investment, especially in the early stages of a project. As a small, technical NGO, AAS may not be able to keep providing the same level of service to poor farmers without support from the public sector.
• Partnerships with CBOs work better than partnerships with local NGOs. This is because CBO members live in the community, so there is no communication gap with poor farmers. To mobilise these resources, intermediary organisations like AAS can play a vital role.

Source(s):
‘Farmseed: putting farmers at the heart of the seed system’ by Paul Van Mele, pages 221-232, in ‘Innovations in Rural Extension: case studies from Bangladesh’, CABI Publishing: Wallingford, edited by Paul Van Mele, A. Salahuddin and N. P. Magor, May 2005

Funded by: International Rice Research Institute

id21 Research Highlight: 16 March 2006

Further Information:
Paul Van Mele
Africa Rice Centre (WARDA)
01 BP 2031
Cotonou
Benin

Tel: +229 35 01 88
Fax: +229 35 05 56
Contact the contributor: p.vanmele@cgiar.org

CAB International, UK

Harun Ar Rashid
Agricultural Advisory Society (AAS)
6/5, Sir Syed Road, Mohammadpur
Dhaka 1207
Bangladesh

Tel: + 880 28113645
Fax: + 880 28117781
Contact the contributor: aas@bdcom.com

International Rice Research Institute, Philippines

Other related links:
'Rice-duck farming: new opportunities for farmers in Bangladesh'

'Conserving biodiversity resources on small farms in India'

'Farmers and plant breeders: an essential partnership for poverty reduction'

'Balancing food security and sustainability: the challenges of rice production'

'Maintaining crop genetic diversity through farmer networks'