The adverse effects of climate change are being felt across the globe, and smallholder farmers are bearing the brunt of its effects in the form of reduced crop yields. From droughts to heat waves, erratic rainfall, and flooding, affected farmers’ fields are producing less every season. Hence, the need for resilient farming systems is more important than ever. But increased resilience doesn’t have to come at the cost of higher yields. Introducing new crop varieties with high levels of tolerance to environmental stress and higher yield potential can allow farmers to leap-frog from subsistence-level farming to surplus production systems.
Improved seed combined with improved crop management practices is a fundamental component of increased farmer productivity. Recent decades have seen the development of thousands of improved varieties bred for African farmers that are resistant to drought, pests and diseases, and selected for increased harvest index. Tragically, most farmers still don’t have access to them.
Despite its importance, adoption rates of improved crop varieties in sub-Saharan Africa have historically lagged behind as smallholder farmers face barriers to accessing the seed. This calls for deliberate and targeted interventions aimed at achieving high adoption rates across the continent. Farmer adoption requires not only the breeding of climate-resilient varieties but also strong investments in seed production and distribution, including seed bulking facilities and vigorous efforts to increase farmer awareness of their benefits.
Using a proven public-private Model, Seed Systems Group is helping small holder farmers across 15 African countries mitigate the impacts of climate change by strengthening local seed production and delivery systems through participatory variety selection, increased seed production volumes through local, private seed companies, and ensuring farmers are able to test and adopt these improved varieties via the Village Based Advisors/Small Pack methodology and networks of agro-dealers.
Togo, one of SSG’s program countries, is facing new and severe climatic challenges, especially in its Northern Regions. In response, SSG supported the Togolese Institute of Agronomic Research (ITRA) to test 40 improved varieties of rice, sorghum, and hybrid maize. The trials led to the release of eleven new varieties, including four of maize (TGMW3, TGMW4, FH68, and FH33), three of rice (Exbaika, Jasmine 85, and Chapeau Vert), and four varieties of sorghum (Soubatini, Sorvato 9, ABM18-300-1, and F2-20). Seed of these new varieties is now reaching farmers through four private seed companies and hundreds of private agro-dealers.
In Djibouti, extreme aridity places severe limits on food production; however, 2,000 stalwart farmers grow vegetables and forage crops under irrigation. Through funding from IFAD and collaboration with WorldVeg, SSG’s Djibouti seed systems initiative is introducing improved vegetable and drought-tolerant forage crops. The project is producing foundation and certified seeds and promoting their adoption using the VBA/small pack approach.
As climate change intensifies, and populations grow, increasing productivity on smallholder farms through access to high-yielding, climate-resilient seeds is vital for achieving food security in Africa.
