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Regional effort seeks to dramatically improve smallholder farmers’ access to higher-yielding seed varieties of staple food crops A broad coalition of public and private sector organizations Monday October 5, 2009, announced a new partnership committed to raising the yields and incomes of smallholder farmers in West Africa by increasing their access to improved, locally adapted varieties of major food crops. 

The partnership between the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), the African Seed Trade Association (AFSTA), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) establishes the West Africa Seed Alliance (WASA).
It would be recalled that AGRA has been involved in series of drives to boost food production in Africa . In February for for instance, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, joined forces with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) in Nairobi to unlock credit and financing for small-scale farmers and agribusinesses across sub-Saharan Africa . The partners’ collaboration was meant to help expand or scale up AGRA ’s existing innovative financing projects to reach more countries and key stakeholders in the African agricultural value chain. AGRA and IFC both pursue practical solutions to help alleviate poverty.
Specifically, the partnership between IFC and AGRA focuses on developing market-based incentives and tools to increase agricultural productivity. For example, IFC and AGRA will work together in various ways to scale up AGRA’s partnerships with investors and national commercial banks to make loans available to farmers and agribusinesses like smaller seed companies, expand and finance agro-dealer networks to increase availability of farm inputs and expertise in rural areas, and support ‘fertiliser value chain’ financing, including regional procurement of fertiliser.
WASA is implemented by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the Seed Science Center at Iowa State University (SSC-ISU), and CNFA Inc. The goal of WASA is to promote a sustainable commercial seed industry focused on ensuring that small-scale farmers in West Africa have affordable, timely, and reliable access to good quality seeds and planting material. WASA will work closely with West African governments and regional organizations to implement policies that encourage private sector investments in local seed production that will stimulate increased adoption of improved high-quality seed and complementary inputs. 
USAID support to WASA started in late 2007 but the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding October 5, 2009, at the opening of an international conference in Bamako , Mali , organized by AGRA greatly reinforces the Alliance  “The livelihoods of smallholder farmers in West Africa are directly linked to a modernized agriculture,” says Joe DeVries, Director of AGRA’s Seed Programme. “It is also no coincidence that the most successful agricultural enterprises come about mostly through an effective public-private sector partnership” added Robert Kagbo, Senior Agricultural Advisor of USAID/West Africa.
Farmers in West Africa only cultivate about 1-3 hectares, and do not use improved seed of varieties of locally bred material except for such cash crops as cotton and cocoa. They generally rely on poor quality seeds saved from previous years or provided by aid organizations. Crop yields are therefore quite low and harvests often do not provide enough food for their families, much less to have a surplus to sell or store for later consumption.
A key goal of WASA is to support existing seed companies and entrepreneurs interested in producing and marketing seed and complementary inputs by providing relevant training and technical expertise, business development management, and marketing assistance. “Our goal is to work with our partners and with local businesses to provide them the means to benefit from modern science for improving the livelihood of the African farmer,” said Justin Rakotoarisaona, Secretary General of AFSTA.
WASA will focus on commercial production of conventionally bred varieties from various sources world-wide so farmers have a wide range of choices in the market. Given the importance of crop biodiversity to local farmers and regional plant breeding programs, WASA initiatives will however encourage the use of landraces for further crop improvement. WASA also focuses on policy reforms that encourage private sector investment and facilitate cross-border seed trade, as well as on improving crop productivity for various agribusinesses.
AFSTA is the main private seed industry association in Africa , consisting of 16 national seed trade associations, 44 private African and foreign seed companies, agricultural service providers, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). It has received commitments from private sector members to support the Seed Alliance activities, which will include providing technical assistance in seed production, processing, sales, distribution and marketing.
ECOWAS promotes regional economic integration of West African countries and has already adopted a regional regulation on seed harmonization in its 15 member states to facilitate cross-border trade in seeds. The next preoccupation of ECOWAS and WASA partners is to work with national governments on implementing the regional seed agreement at the national level in order to facilitate private sector investment in seeds in West Africa . WASA has fully embraced the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and understands that farmers hold the key to breaking the cycle of food insecurity in West Africa ,” said Norbert Maroya, WASA Coordinator. “We believe farmers will see in this innovative Seed Alliance an opportunity to build a stronger economic foundation for an integrated and prosperous regional agricultural sector in the region.”