Originally published on cgiar.org by:International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) on Nov 2, 2009

African seed producers and researchers want regional actions that will fast track the release of seeds with a call on policy makers to remove the bottlenecks in seed multiplication and expedite the release of improved varieties to farmers.

At a policy workshop organized by IITA and CIMMYT in Abuja on 28 October that looked at the status of the seed sector in West Africa , the stakeholders sought the harmonization of regional seed laws to close the gap between seed demand and supply in the region.

"The road blocks need to be removed by harmonizing varieties' releasing laws in the West African sub region. For example, we have too many regulatory agencies on the highways. That needs to be broken and the market opened otherwise we have no headway and the gap will remain," says Osofo Patrick Apullah, Managing Director of Ghana-based Savanna Seed Services Limited.
 
Studies conducted by IITA and CIMMYT researchers show that demand for maize far outstrips supply in West Africa.

For instance, improved maize seed supply in Nigeria accounts for only 47 per cent of total seed requirement. The figure is 11 per cent in Ghana. For the whole of West Africa, seed supply is only 33 per cent for the period 1997-2007.

Tahirou Abdoulaye, IITA Agricultural Economist who led the study, says maize seed production is still lower than needed in the West Africa and called on a favourable policy framework that will attract the private sector in the seed industry.

Grown in the vast lands of Africa, maize is life to more than 650 million people in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Each person in the region consumes an average of 43 kilos of the crop annually.

In recent years, the productivity of maize has been severely threatened by a matrix of problems including slow pace of release of improved seeds to farmers, frequent droughts and irregular rainfall.

Wilfred Mwangi, Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Project Manager and Associate Director of CIMMYT's Global Maize Program, says for improved seed varieties to reach farmers, a functional, effective, vibrant, and streamlined seed sector is critical.

He added that the IITA-CIMMYT maize study proves that the seed sector in West Africa needs immediate attention.
 
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