1. Results of the first Access to Seeds Index
for Western and Central Africa
Press presentation, Lagos, 17 April 2019

2. UN Agencies: numbers of people suffering from malnutrition are
on the rise, because of effects of climate change on agriculture
Number of undernourished people inWesternAfrica,
2005-2017 (millions)
UN agencies
• Help farmers to adapt to climate change
• Improve access to new crop varieties

3. Landscaping
Improve transparency of the industry
Partnerships
Help to create public-private partnerships
Dialogue
Provide an evidence base for dialogue
Benchmark
Reward leadership, encourage improvements
Objectives of the
Access to Seeds Index

4. November 2018
South and
Southeast Asia
March 2019
Eastern &
Southern Africa
April 2019
Western &
Central Africa
The Access to Seeds Index evaluated
60 leading seed companies in three regions

5. Key steps in the development of the Access to Seeds Index
for Western and Central Africa
Announced at FAO
Rome, June 2016
Dialogue governments, African Union
Abidjan, 25 October 2016
Endorsed by farmers’ organizations
Ouagadougou, 18-19 October 2016
Discussed with companies
at AFSTA Seed Congress
Dakar 1-2 March 2017
Regional Experts approved
methodology
Abidjan, 10 October 2017
Selected companies informed
AFSTA Seed Congress
Cairo, 1 March 2018

6. Formal, certified seed producing cooperatives
active across nearly all countries in the region
Formal, certified seed-
producing cooperatives
active

7. Leading seed companies identified
in nearly half of the countries in the region

8. Seed companies from outside the region
have a presence in nearly all countries

9. Seed industry covers nearly all countries;
companies and cooperatives from region hardly cross borders
Origin of homegrown
seed companies
Presence global seed
companies
Presence seed-producing
cooperatives
Source: www.accesstoseeds.org/publications

10. To understand current performance, 23 leading seed companies in
Western and Central Africa were selected for further evaluation
* Acquisition by Bayer completed in August 2018
FRA

11. The Index assesses company activities
in seven areas, developed with 25 experts from all regions

12. Nigerian company leads the ranking;
five companies from the region in top 10
Source: Access to Seeds Index for Western and Central Africa 2019
(USA-Private)

13. All Nigerian companies display specific strengths that serve as an inspiration
for the rest of the industry
Source: Access to Seeds Index for Western and Central Africa 2019
Premier Seed
Marketing
Value Kit: all inputs a small farmer needs for ¼
hectare in one box
Nutritional value
Special focus on crops with increased nutritional
value, such as vegetables and cassava
Maslaha
Seeds
Breeding
Most advanced breeding program focused on
local conditions of large and small farmers
Value
Seeds
Capacity Building
Training program for next generation farmer to
become an agri-entrepreneur
Da Allgreen
Seeds

14. Leading seed companies are present with sales throughout the region, but
invest in only a handful of countries
Source: Access to Seeds Index for Western and Central Africa 2019

15. Only seven companies from the region are involved in breeding,
three global companies have breeding activities
Only 12% of portfolio of
regional companies is result
of own breeding
Almost 50% of portfolio of
regional companies older
than 5 years
Source: Access to Seeds Index for Western and Central Africa 2019
From African continent From outside the continent

16. Companies work on a broad portfolio. OPVs are dominant,
only for maize and some vegetables more hybrids
Source: Access to Seeds Index for Western and Central Africa 2019

17. Companies are involved in capacity building,
but emphasis lays on a select number of countries
Source: Access to Seeds Index for Western and Central Africa 2019

18. Main take-outs
West Africa
• Ambitious homegrown seed
companies coming up
• Lack of breeding to meet food
security challenges
• Not yet a regional market, strong
inbalances between countries
Nigeria
• Top performing companies are
from Nigeria
• Potential to become the regional
seed hub
• Private sector does not yet meet
the national demand
Source: Access to Seeds Index for Western and Central Africa 2019

19. Our website includes rankings and analysis for each measurement
area: https://www.accesstoseeds.org/

20. Value Seeds
For each company a scorecard is available
https://www.accesstoseeds.org/

21. Country profiles contain information on
company presence and the enabling environment

22. www.accesstoseeds.org