The book "Farmers, seeds and varieties: Supporting informal seed supply in Ethiopia" has been officially launched in Addis Ababa on 28th of October. The first copy was presented to Yaekob Yalla, the Ethiopian State Minister of Agriculture, by Wageningen International's Dr. Niels Louwaars and Dr. Tefesse Gebru, general manager of the Ethiopian Seed Enterprise.
The Dutch ambassador to Ethiopia in his opening speech stressed that a well functioning seed system is crucial for improving food security, increasing agricultural export, and conserving agrobiodiversity. He emphasized the good cooperation between Ethiopia and the Netherlands in the area of agriculture in general and the seed sector specifically. Yeakob Yalla in his speech indicated that seed supply has top-priority in his Ministry. (Source: Press release Royal Netherlands Embassy Ethiopia)
This book addresses strategies and approaches through which professionals can support informal seed supply, and link these with the conservation and use of the huge genetic resource base of crops and local varieties. 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 seeds and varieties, thereby improving the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in Ethiopia and beyond.
The book is the result of a one-year capacity building programme coordinated and facilitated by Wageningen International, in cooperation with ICARDA and ESE.
Wageningen International's Dr. Marja Thijssen was one of the Editors of the book.
The book can be downloaded (PDF) free of charge: http://www.cdic.wur.nl/UK/Publications/