Overview

In most developing countries, good quality seed is hard to obtain and farmers struggle to save seed from one year to the next. Instead, they increasingly turn to public or private enterprises that multiply, store and distribute seed. African Seed Enterprises takes a people-centred look at the companies, public agencies and family farms that are taking on this role and making a difference to food security across Africa. Case studies are arranged by country, and each chapter includes a profile of the agricultural and policy environment that surrounds these enterprises and affects their development. Each case is unique and presents its own set of lessons, and as a whole, this wide range of experiences is a rich source of data and ideas for future enterprise, offering valuable insights for policy makers, academics and non-governmental organizations throughout the world.

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9781845938437

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Reviews

This is a thorough, well-designed book. I found it fascinating and difficult to put down. It is highly relevant to overcoming barriers to new variety introduction in Africa - and hence food security - and is relevant to development more broadly. -- (01/01/2012)

This is a thorough, well-designed book. I found it fascinating and difficult to put down. It is highly relevant to overcoming barriers to new variety introduction in Africa - and hence food security - and is relevant to development more broadly. --Richard Ellis (01/01/2012)

This is a thorough, well-designed book. I found it fascinating and difficult to put down. It is highly relevant to overcoming barriers to new variety introduction in Africa - and hence food security - and is relevant to development more broadly. --Richard Ellis (1/1/2012 12:00:00 AM)

Author Information

Paul Van Mele (PhD, Wageningen University) is an agricultural scientist who has managed agricultural R&D projects dealing with sustainable agriculture across the global South for over three decades. Since 2002, Paul has spearheaded farmer-to-farmer training video, coordinated research on video-mediated learning and taken it to scale. He runs his own company, Agro-Insight, and co-founded the non-profit organisation Access Agriculture to support South-South learning on agroecological transformation. Jeffery W. Bentley (Ph.D., University of Arizona) is an agricultural anthropologist with a lifelong interest in farmer creativity, and language. He has worked extensively with farmers and agricultural scientists in Latin America, Africa, South Asia, and Portugal. Previously at New Mexico State and Zamorano Universities, he currently works at Agro-Insight. Jeff has consulted for CABI, CIP, CIMMYT, and the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB), among others. In the early 2000s he played a key role setting up the CABI plant clinics. He lives in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Robert G. Guéi is a plant breeder and a geneticist (PhD, Kansas State University, 1991). He spent 14 years at AfricaRice (formerly called WARDA), initially as rice breeder, then as coordinator of the international network of genetic evaluation of rice, and finally as Head of the Genetic Resources Unit. Since 2005, he has worked at FAO as an agricultural officer, seed expert. He lives in Rome, and has a global responsibility to help countries develop their seed systems. He is the author of various scientific papers, book chapters and manuals, and technical and policy guides including several on community seed enterprise development. He recently edited the NERICA Rice Compendium.

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