Public-private partnerships and the sustainability of sweetpotato Early Generation Seed production

The third instalment in this blog series for SeedSystem.org by scientists from the International Potato Center (CIP) and the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB) discusses how public-private partnerships can contribute to the long-term sustainability of sweetpotato Early Generation Seed (EGS) production.

The sustainable production of EGS (which includes pre-basic/foundation seed and basic seed) is one bottleneck to increasing the availability of new varieties for farmers. Under which conditions is it profitable to produce sweetpotato EGS, and who is best placed to do it? Srini Rajendran and Margaret McEwan of CIP and RTB are determining the cost of producing sweetpotato EGS as part of developing a sustainable business.