On October 28 the Ethiopian State Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, H.E. Yaekob Yalla, has officially received the first copy of the book ‘Farmers, seed and varieties: Supporting informal seed supply in Ethiopia’, at the Management Institute in Debre Zeit.
The book is a result of 1-year Dutch NUFFIC training programme and highlights different approaches to strengthen the Ethiopian seed supply sector. The main contributions come from the Ethiopian Seed Enterprise (ESE), and the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and the Wageningen University and Research Center (WUR).
About the book
Ethiopia is characterized by an enormous diversity in agro-ecosystems, crops and varieties, with the informal seed systems dominant in seed supply for almost all crops. The book addresses strategies and approaches through which professionals can support informal seed supply, and links these with the conservation and use of the huge genetic resource base of crops and local varieties. The book looks at informal seed supply from a number of different angles, introduces key concepts and strategies, and presents case studies from Ethiopia and other countries. It deals with the technical aspects of, quality and availability of, and access to seed, and of supporting informal supply. It also deals with the role of farmers in the conservation and management of local crops and varieties, and the participation of farmers and communities in plant breeding and research. It takes a particular interest in the role of farmer organizations in seed supply, and how this role can be strengthened by developing community and small-scale seed enterprises. The aim of all the strategies, case studies and reflections on experiences presented in this book is to improve the availability of and access to quality seeds and varieties, thereby improving the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in Ethiopia and beyond.
Farmers, seeds and varieties. Supporting informal seed supply in Ethiopia
Thijssen, M.H., Zewdie Bishaw, Abdurahman Beshir, Walter S. de Boef, 2008
The Ethiopian Seed Enterprise (ESE), The International Centre for Agricultrual Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA), Wageningen International
ISBN: 978-90-8585-215-5
The full guide as wel as individual chapters can be downloaded below (pdf):