Four Seasons of Learning and Engaging Smallholder Farmers - icrisat

Lessons learned
TL II bean seed systems Phase 1 lessons are listed below.
1. Impact- oriented core team of a program is key for developing seed systems in drought-prone
regions, geared to reach the poor. A program cannot get impact unless the leader and the team gear
strategies to solving bottlenecks and reaching end users. Otherwise, a program ends up with results
like ‘lots of seed produced’- on the supply side.
2. The professional and transparent engagement of partners is crucial for widespread success. This
includes formal clarification of expectations /responsibilities and clear budget allocations. Productive
partnerships require ongoing facilitation. More is not better - effective partners, private sector,
NGO , unions and beyond, need to be identified who will continue production and delivery beyond
the project (after TL II exit). A better characterization of successful partner attributes could be useful.
3. Availability and access to foundation/certified seeds remains a bottleneck. Despite having created
high farmer demand and interest in the drought-tolerant varieties, foundation seed production remains
solely in the hands of the NARS and access to new varieties and initial seed by seed companies or
other seed producers remains limited. In addition, the capacities of seed companies to produce
certified seed is still very low (or non-existent), hampered by limited technical know- how, as well
as recurrent drought. For instance since project initiation, only one of the two companies licensed to
produce certified seeds has been able to supply any seed at all. On a positive note, in Ethiopia, EIAR/
Melkassa is actively looking to private seed farms as one potential new source for certified seed.
4. Decentralized systems have proven to be durable, functioning even during times of severe
production fluctuation (due to political unrest and drought). Strengthening decentralized centers
of production will become even more important as climate change intensifies.
5. A small pack marketing approach has potential to reach hundreds of thousands of farmers, quickly,
including women . In both Ethiopia and Kenya, the sale of small packs has reached male and
female farmers in but a few seasons, and expanded the use of certified seeds. It has also given
farmers the opportunity to experiment new varieties - at minimum risk. The small-pack model has
already spread to other crops and to six other PABRA countries.
6. Seed loans can be an effective mechanism for moving seed intensely within a community, and
without involving any monetary exchange. Follow-up, showing that a single farmer may distribute to
14 others, in just three seasons, suggests the potential reach of this approach. The main requirement
is to have a strong, grassroots-based implementing partner.
7. Emergency seed distribution can clash with project goals. Emergency supply orders directly compete
with project needs for foundation/certified seed. Further, free distributions clash with the project
optic of selling seed and creating demand among small farmers. Emergency and Development
efforts in seed system development need to be better coordinated and need to be designed to
complement each other. Some gains have been made in Kenya --- where the Government of Kenya
will be substituting seed loans for direct free distribution, at least in the eastern drought-prone areas.
8. Monitoring and evaluation have been crucial for understanding project opportunity and constraints.
Considerable energy was expended to develop and put in place the Integrated Performance
Monitoring and Evaluation (IPME) processes of the project and such start-up efforts should not be
underestimated. Moreover, IPME has also delivered quickly—especially in identifying some of the
quick wins of the project.
Progress of Phase 1
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