ISF GETS THEIR BOOTS DIRTY WITH NEW PARTNERSHIP

Martin | Seed World

It’s a motto anyone who’s worked with the International Seed Federation (ISF) will know. Seed is the basis of all life — without it, farmers across the globe wouldn’t be able to grow the food that sustains us today. But, there’s another aspect of ISF’s motto and mission that’s equally, if not more important, to the organization: creating a world where the best quality seed is accessible to all while supporting sustainable agriculture and food security.

It's a steep task, to say the least, but only about 10% of smallholder farmers worldwide have access to seeds with traits to withstand drought, increase yields and improve nutrition.

With many farmers lacking access to quality seeds, ISF saw a need for more boots on the groundwork. The only question left, though, was how?

Creating the perfect partnership might not always be easy, but when ISF’s international agriculture manager, Hélène Khan Niazi, looks back on working with Fair Planet, an NGO that’s aimed at creating success for smallholder farmers in developing countries, it seems like the pieces just fell into place.

The two women first met in 2017 in Rwanda, at the 7th Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, where Shoshan Haran, founder and president of Fair Planet, was invited to present Fair Planet’s work.

“This is where I first met Hélène,” Haran says. “Hélène was so enthusiastic and energetic, that she immediately suggested forming a collaboration between Fair Planet and ISF, to take our initiative to a much higher level. Follow-up meetings with Hélène and Michael Keller resulted in an invitation to present the Fair Planet initiative during the World Seed Congress in 2019 in France.”

But the real plan came into action at the United Nation’s Food Systems Summit in 2021, where ISF firmed up its commitments to seed resiliency globally.

“We decided that one of the commitments was to work on a pilot project to grow on the ground” Khan Niazi says. “For us, seed resilience is the ability for a seed system to work sustainably. We wanted to be more concrete and have an on-theground example of how we can help a seed system develop sustainably.”

For ISF, it seemed like Fair Planet could provide the perfect opportunity due to their experiences and expertise.

“I founded Fair Planet in 2012, as an NGO, to bridge the gap between the best seeds in the world and the poorest farmers, who mostly use low-quality seeds and inadequate agro-technical practices that result in very low yields and poor income,” Haran says. “Our mission is to develop the capacity of smallholder farmers in developing countries to transform agriculture into a profitable source of income, through access to high-quality seeds, knowledge and skills.”

Within that mission, Fair Planet has partnered with individual seed companies to determine what high-quality vegetable seeds are relevant for local markets and cli- mates in Ethiopia and Tanzania. After trialing the seeds and varieties to identify the best local performers, Fair Planet trains lead farmers how to use these seeds through weekly visits on their own fields, together with local extension officers who gain knowledge on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and practical training skills.

“The lead farmers serve as key agents of change: their success attracts their neighbors to use high-quality seeds and better farming practices, leading to a strong ripple effect and a very quick spread of the technology,” Haran says. “In parallel, the local extension system passes on the knowledge to a larger circle of farmers, thus exponentially increasing the dissemination of high-quality seeds and best practices.”

“Seed choice for farmers is a key principle for ISF members,” says Khan Niazi. “We value the concept of Fair Planet because the NGO not only proposes improved varieties from renowned seed companies but also includes local varieties in their trial fields. Sometimes local varieties perform better and most important is that farmers have the possibility to make an informed choice of the varieties suiting best his/her needs.”

One example Haran gives was taken from the Fair Planet’s project in Ethiopia, called the ‘onion case’.

“We compared the agronomic and economic performance of imported hybrid onion varieties to a locally available open-pollinated one, for which the seed price was six times lower,” she says. “Although its crop yield and quality were inferior, the net income it generated per plot, was higher. Therefore, most of the farmers chose to grow this onion variety and the project provided them with training on GAP.

“To maximize the potential of the improved varieties, thousands of smallholder farmers in Ethiopia were trained in GAP in a second phase, and within five years, the project’s impact reached more than 75,000 farmers,” she says. “From growing improved vegetables and using GAP in their small plots, their yields increased more than threefold, leading to an average $470 increase in their households’ annual income, from only one production season.”

Not only that, but an external survey by the Hebrew University found the additional income enabled 96% of their families to improve their nutrition. In addition, 45% used the additional income to send their children to school, and 96% of households have saved money, allowing sustainable economic growth.

Haran equates the success of Fair Planet projects due not only to helping smallholder farmers learn to grow varieties themselves but also helping to equip the entire region with knowledge and expertise.

For the partnership with ISF, the concept would be the same, Khan Niazi says. Seed companies — hopefully, in this case, ISF member companies — would provide Fair Planet’s team with locally adapted varieties. Those seeds would be tested to see what grows well locally in Rwanda to determine what varieties Fair Planet will continue to work with and train smallholder farmers about.

However, Khan Niazi says they’re hoping to expand what seeds growers will have access to.

“At the moment, Fair Planet is focusing more on vegetables — we would like to open it as well to cereals, potatoes, pulses and other crops,” she says. “ISF is going to give more exposure to the concept of the project, but the companies are going to contract directly with Fair Planet — they’ll be leading the project on the ground, and we’re going to work with the national authorities in Rwanda to help develop the local seed system.”

The key for ISF, though, is showing these policymakers how NGOs and the private sector can work together to create a better seed system.

“We want to show the policymakers and the regulatory makers understand the people on the ground and how we can all work together,” Khan Niazi adds. “Not only that, but the private sector can bring positive things to the seed sector in a given country.”

After forming the partnership, it really came down to finding the perfect location to launch the joint venture. Ultimately, ISF and

10% 96% 45%

10% is the number of smallholder farmers worldwide that have access to seeds with traits to withstand drought, increase yields and improve nutrition.

96% of smallholder families were able to improve their nutrition with additional income from Fair Planet’s teachings, according to Hebrew University.

45% of those smallholder farmers used the additional income to send their children to school.

Fair Planet decided one of the best options for the project location was Rwanda.

“Rwanda is characterized by a wide range of agro-climatic conditions with diverse cultural and farming practices. Agriculture is an important basis for the country's socioeconomic structure and has a major influence on all the other economic sectors,” Haran says. “The farming system at small scale farmers' level is mostly traditional and managed with simple production technologies and the average yield of the major crops is very low.”

With high-quality seeds developed for more diverse conditions — think drought resistance, disease tolerance and higher yield — Haran believes the project will be able to find suitable varieties to increase local farmers productivity and income.

But, it’s not solely focused on the environmental conditions. Some of it has to do with the regulations and openness of the Rwandan government.

“The Rwandan government is eager to apply innovations and up to now, access to high-quality seeds has not really been addressed by the government or by international aid organizations,” Haran adds. “During a recent meeting with Gerardine Mukeshimana, Rwanda Minister of Agriculture, she expressed the importance of collaboration on the seed system and extension services, to help smallholder farmers to be successful in their farming activities.”

That means, there’s an eagerness present to help get farmers the best innovations they need to improve their livelihoods.

Finally, the last reason Haran sees Rwanda as a wonderful opportunity for the project was due to its export opportunities. Currently, Rwanda is exporting some agriculture produce to their neighbor, the

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) — only a portion of the land in DRC is arable and cultivated.

“Rwanda has a very high potential to become a significant exporter of crops to DRC, one of the world’s largest countries with more than 95 million people,” she says, adding that for the Seed Resilience project, they’re looking to empower farmers and give them the best possible future after the intervention is completed.

After choosing the right location, it’s about finding the right varieties for the growers. Though this can be a time-consuming part of the project, finding the market’s preferred seeds and the seeds that work best in the smallholder farmers’ environment is crucial to setting them up for success.

“We will focus first on identifying market needs and preferences for specific crops,” Haran says. “Let’s take a tomato for example: does the market prefer oval or round tomatoes? What is the preferred fruit size?”

While private breeders might think and breed for yield, Haran says that the yield is a result of many traits, including potential productivity, resistance to locally prevalent pests and diseases and climate adaptability.

“Based on this information, specific product profiles will be developed for each of the selected crops and shared with the partner seed companies,” she says.

In addition, Haran says they’re working to identify what crops Rwandan farmers need to grow to complement other locally grown foods.

“Rwanda needs cereals and grains to complement other foods grown locally. Out of the country’s total food production per year, only 6% are cereals and Rwanda is a net importer of grains and grain seeds,” she says. “Production gaps per hectare are significant: for rice, wheat and potatoes the yield gaps are 37%, 43% and 50%, respectively, compared to the world average, and even less when compared to advanced markets.”

Rwanda also has a very low vegetable consumption rate, which leads to low vitamin and fiber consumption in their diets. Looking into vegetable varieties that perform well in the environment will help fill out their diets.

To test some of these seeds — from locally important varieties to high-quality seeds provided by seed companies — Fair Planet will be hosting open field day trials to showcase what they’re finding.

According to Khan Niazi, this not only gives smallholder farmers a chance to see

6% is the amount of cereals grown in Rwanda in comparison to the country’s total food production. 6%

84,000 the varieties in action before trying them themselves, but it also allows Fair Planet to provide some education prior to planting.

84,000 is the amount of farmers that the Rwanda project is aiming to help access high quality seeds and improved farming practices.

“We already have two facilities in Rwanda provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rwanda University — we’ll work both in open fields and protected conditions, where all the farmers can come and see the results of the varieties adapted to their local farming conditions,” Haran says.

That also allows Fair Planet to gauge a few different things — though those high-quality seeds might be proven to work exceptionally well in some areas of the globe, they might not work as well as the important, local seed varieties.

“In all our projects, and definitely in the Rwanda Seed Resilience one, we include local seeds that are available to farmers, and compare them to imported seeds,” Haran says. “What really matters to farmers, either smallholders or large-scale ones, is the suitability of the seed varieties to their farming conditions and their potential to generate high net income. Availability is also key and we are working with local seed dealers to improve the choice farmers have.”

After the trialing phase, Fair Planet moves onto the training phase, where they teach lead farmers how to use the seeds through weekly visits to their own fields with their local Extension officers. That’s where teaching about GAP comes in.

Finally, once farmers succeed in turning farming into a sustainable and reliable income source and a critical mass of trained and knowledgeable local professionals is reached and takes full ownership for continuing the training process, Fair Planet leaves the region, as already been accomplished in its first intervention region in Ethiopia.

“This is also a key point for ISF,” Khan Niazi says. “We are not looking for short-term solutions which keep farmers in a dependent state. We really wish farmers and all the agro-business to be able to make a living out their work. Our aim is to help build a sustainable system.”

“We believe that farmers in Africa should have the freedom to choose from a wide selection of seed options, like any farmer in the developed world,” Haran adds.

For seed companies looking to get involved, there are two ways in particular.

“The first way would be to become a partner. Seed companies that are interested in the Rwanda market can test their varieties locally and support the project's budget,” Khan Niazi says. “They provide varieties based on local market needs, what farmers’ requirements need to be met and so on. Fair Planet will select the best performing ones and train local trainers and farmers how to improve their productivity and income from farming. Seed companies are really encouraged to become project partners.

“The second way would be to become a sponsor by simply giving a financial contribution. If for some reason you don’t want to provide varieties and you’d rather just support the ISF project, you can make a financial endowment directly to Fair Planet,” she continues. “It’s important to note that ISF itself does not contribute directly to the project’s budget. This should be covered by the ISF member companies, either as partners or sponsors.”

And though Rwanda is a smaller country, the Seed Resilience project is looking to have a major impact.

The five-year project is aiming to provide 84,000 farmers access to high-quality seeds and improved farming practices in Rwanda, which should lead to a sustainable increase in yields, quality and income. It’ll provide and improve the local Extension service with 600 local trainers and is projected to improve the livelihood of over 360,000 people.

“Even though Rwanda is small compared with other African countries, its high level of infrastructure and entrepreneurship can lead to a development of produce export to many countries in central Africa, thus creating a larger seed market for participating seed companies, while contributing to the livelihood of smallholder farmers in Rwanda,” Haran says. “This ISF project will also serve as a model for future projects aiming to increase food and nutrition security in other countries.

“For me, personally, it’s a dream come true: the reason I founded Fair Planet was to bridge the gap between the best seeds in the world and the poorest farmers and with this initiative, my dream is becoming a reality.” SW