Seed system in Ethiopia represents; organizational, institutional, and individual operations Associated with the development, multiplication, processing, storage, distribution, and marketing of seed in the country. Farmers, particularly smallholder ones, are involved in multiple kinds of seed systems, which can guarantee them in obtaining the quantity and quality of seeds they need and to market their produce.

1. COLLEGE OF AGRICUTLURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
GRADUATE PROGRAM(MSC IN AGRONOMY)
Course: Seed Sciences and Technology (AGRO-521)
Presentation on : The Ethiopian Seed Development and Quality
Control System
By
Fenta Assefa
Instructor: Zenebe G/Medhin ( PhD Candidate)
June, 2021
Gondar, Ethiopia

2. Presentation outline
 Introduction
 Objective
 Literature Review
 Formal Seed system Development and its
Quality Control System
 Informal Seed system Development and its
Quality Control System
 Integrated Seed System Development and its
Quality Control System
 Conclusion
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3. Seed system in Ethiopia represents;
 organizational,
 institutional, and
 individual operations
Associated with the development, multiplication, processing,
storage, distribution, and marketing of seed in the country.
Farmers, particularly smallholder ones, are involved in
multiple kinds of seed systems,
 which can guarantee them in obtaining the quantity and
quality of seeds they need and to market their produce.
3
Introduction

4. Accordingly, the development of the national seed system has been
identified as one of the key components of the agricultural
transformation agenda of the country.
But for decades, the Ethiopian government followed a linear model
of formal seed sector development policy.
 focusing on the development of improved high-yielding varieties
and the distribution of certified seeds to farmers to increase
national food security .
To do this, several government (public) entities, private companies,
cooperatives, agricultural research institutes, and universities have
contributed to satisfy the seed demand
Con’t…
4

5. However, both public and private seed producers mainly
concentrate on a few cereal crops,
 supply only a small portion of the total quantity of seed
demanded by farmers.
Thus, they do not satisfy the diversified seed demand of farmers
due to inefficiency of the seed systems of the country
Accordingly, most smallholders tackle the seed shortage through
farmer-to-farmer seed exchange or using saved seed (Alemu,
2011; Thijssen et al., 2008).
5
Con’t…

6. Objective
6
 The overall objective of this presentation is to present
the summarizeing points of the Ethiopian seed
development and Quality control system

7. Formal seed system development
In Ethiopia formal seed production can be dated back to the
opening of
Jimma Agricultural College (JAC, 1942),
Alemaya University of Agriculture (AUA, 1954),
Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization (EARO, 1966)
and
 Chilalo Agricultural Development Unit (CADU, 1967).
The Ethiopian seed program, however, was very much ad hoc and
seed production was uncoordinated until the late 1970s (Sisay et
al., 2017).
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8. Institutionalized seed production, processing, distribution and
quality control were started by the end of the 1970s when;
 National Seed Council (NSC) and
 Ethiopian Seed Enterprise (ESE) were established (Bishaw et
al.,2008; Gebeyehu et al., 2001).
Gradually ESE together with other public organizations, such as
 agricultural research institutes,
 universities,
 ministry of agriculture, and
 state agricultural development corporations, engaged in seed
production to meet the increasing national seed demand.
Con’t…
8

9. Con’t…
9
However, until 1991 the activities of ESE were highly skewed to
the state farms and cooperatives (Bishaw et al.,2008).
Hence, there were no private seed companies engaged in seed
production when the economy was based on state-owned socialist
principles.
B/c, they show little interest to invest in seed production of self-
pollinating crops, for which, unlike maize, farmers do not have to
buy seed every year

10. Con’t…
The formal system clearly demarcates the roles and responsibilities of
stakeholders in the seed chain
Table 1:Major stakeholders in the formal seed system and their roles.
Seed system
components
Involved stakeholders Regulatory
stakeholders
Regulatory
measures
Plant breeding EIAR, RARIs, Universities
Variety release NVRC MoA Distinctiveness,
uniformity, stability
Breeder seed
production
EIAR, RARIs, Universities
Pre-basic seed
production
EIAR, RARIs, Universities,
ESE, RSEs
MoA, regional BoA Seed quality
assurance
Basic seed
production
ESE, RSEs, private
companies, SPCs
MoA, regional BoA Seed quality
assurance
Certified seed
production
ESE, RSEs, private
companies, SPCs, unions,
farmers based
seed production
MoA, regional BoA
10
Source: Adapted from Bishaw et al.(2008).

11. Con’t…
11
Figure 1:Formal seed system Chain
Breeding
Release
Seed/ genetic resources
Multiplication
Marketing

12. Informal seed system development
12
In Ethiopian context, informal seed system is seed production and
distribution practices where there is no legal seed certification
(Alemu, 2010).
The system constitutes
millions of individual small-scale farmers, who save or
exchange seed at the local level.
development agencies and projects supporting community
seed production with no regulatory oversight (Alemu and
Bishaw , 2015).

13. Con’t…
13
 It is the dominant system in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (African
Union 2008; Okry et al., 2011).
 Similarly, in Ethiopia, it is the primary source of seed supply
(McGuire, 2005) and ,
o up to 90% of the seed demand is fulfilled by the informal seed
system (Zewdie et al., 2008).

14. Con’t…
 This is due to smallholder farmers;
request relatively small quantities of seed, which the
formal system does not supply.
live in remote areas where the formal system cannot
reach them.
have limited financial resources to purchase the formally
certified seed, which is expensive.
have diversified and unpredictable seed demand.
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15. Con’t…
15
Figure 2:Informal seed system chain
Seed selection
Production
Diffusion

16. Con’t…
Table 2: Comparison of the formal and informal seed sectors in
Ethiopia
Formal Informal
Seed source Public seed enterprises, Private seed
companies
NGOs working under development
Own-saved seed, Other
farmers, Community seed
banks, Local food markets
Seed type Varieties tested for uniformity and
stability standards, and then released
and registered
Seed quality is monitored and
certified by an external agency
Some improved varieties
adopted, multiplied and
exchanged by farmers
across seasons
Mainly local varieties,
which are not registered
Seed quality is not
monitored and certified by
an external agency
% of Seed
Supplied
10% (Atilaw, 2010) 90% (Atilaw, 2010)
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17. Integrated Seed System Development
17
In addition to these two seed systems , in 2009 Integrated Seed
Sector Development (ISSD) Program in Ethiopia starts to
implement.
Which combine elements of both formal and informal seed
systems in which seed producer cooperatives/ local seed
businesses (LSBs) are playing active roles.
But, closer to the informal local systems than to the formal seed
systems
Having a local coverage, not supported by government
initiatives and rely on farming communities’ capacities, instead
of specialized seed industries.

18. Con’t…
Accordingly, they produce and market non-certified seeds of both
improved varieties and farmer-preferred local varieties (Ayana et
al., 2013; Fadda and Van Etten, 2019; Kansiime and
Mastenbroek, 2016; Sisay et al., 2017).
But, NGOs provide support for the certification based on national
seed laws on quality requirement (Vernooy, 2017) while the
government plays a monitoring role (FAO, 2006),
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19. Con’t…
Local Seed Business (LSB) development is one component of the
ISSD Ethiopia Programme,
 focusing on organizing and supporting groups of farmers
o often legally registered as SPCs to produce and market
quality declared seeds (QDS) of improved varieties that has
great local demand .
• In Ethiopia, the QDS scheme requires seed producers to employ
robust internal quality assurance and declare the quality of their
seed based on
o limited quality control established by the regulatory authorities
(Regional Bureaus of Agriculture).
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20. Con’t…
The seed distribution channel of this system also includes
community based seed production by organized farmers in the
form of
cooperatives,
model farmers, and/or
individual entrepreneurs.
20

21. Con’t…
21
PVS
Specialized units for EGS
Figure 3:Integrated seed system chain
Breeding
Release
Seed/ genetic resources
Multiplication Marketing
Seed selection
Production
Diffusion
Informal seed
system
Formal seed
system
Participa
tory
plant
breeding
LSBs Development

22. Conclusion
Seed system development in developing and emerging economies,
including Ethiopia, is a complex issue.
A strong seed sector can contribute to a country’s economic
development, when it adopts vibrant, pluralistic, and market-
oriented approaches.
Each seed system in Ethiopia has its own specific contribution.
In countries like Ethiopia where the formal seed supply is
inefficient, the informal system is extremely important for seed
security of the nation.
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23. Con’t…
Because, the formal seed system covers a few crops and supplies
a small volume of seed to the market.
Can not satisfy the existing diversified and huge seed
demand.
Thus, the informal seed system is more reliable and sustainable,
and
 need to be strengthened with special emphasis of
formalizing the system through integration with the
law-regulated formal system.
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