Strengthening seed systems through a multi-stakeholder platform: How Afriseed grew into regional bean enterprise
Since 2016, Afriseed, led by Grace Mhango in Malawi, has built a regional bean seed system with the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT through PABRA, empowering women and youth farmers while supplying high-quality seed to southern African markets.
- women in agriculture
Strengthening seed systems through a multi-stakeholder platform: How Afriseed grew into regional bean enterprise
Since 2016, Afriseed, led by Grace Mhango in Malawi, has built a regional bean seed system with the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT through PABRA, empowering women and youth farmers while supplying high-quality seed to southern African markets.
Open configuration options
When Grace Mijiga Mhango talks about Afriseed, she does not start with numbers or hectares. She starts with a simple realization she had nearly a decade ago.
“If we want to supply the markets we are targeting, we cannot do it as Malawi alone,” she says with a smile. “Besides, as a business, without seed, there is no sustainability.”
That realization, back in 2016, is what pushed her to design what she calls an inclusive business model—an approach that would link smallholder farmers, especially women and youth, directly into seed production and regional markets.
At the time, the challenges were many. Access to clean planting material was unreliable. Markets were not clearly defined. Seed production was often ad hoc, with little planning or coordination.
“We were producing and selling without a proper plan,” Grace recalls. “The market was not organized, and information was hard to get. Without information, you cannot plan a business.”