The document discusses the Good Seed Initiative (GSI), a partnership project in East Africa led by CABI and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The GSI aims to contribute to food security and livelihoods by building the capacity of smallholder farmers to produce and market high quality seed of African Indigenous Vegetables. Key approaches include partnerships along the seed value chain, action research, gender-sensitive programming, and farmer entrepreneurship. Notable achievements include equipping farmer groups in seed production, linking farmers to markets and services, characterizing indigenous varieties, increasing incomes and nutrition, and influencing seed production policies. The unique contribution of the partnership lies in its multi-stakeholder approach along the entire vegetable value chain.

1. Monica K. Kansiime, CAB International
Partnerships for impact: experience
from CABI’s good seed initiative
Understanding impact delivery from agricultural research breakout session

2. Agricultural research for rural prosperity: Rethinking the pathways www.scienceforum2016.org
Background
• High level of investment is required to unleash the potential of
agriculture for sustainability
• However, there is increasingly a decline on government
budgetary allocation to the sector
• The expectation is that the private sector and other partners
can finance the gap
• Implying that future prosperity of farmers is closely linked to
partnerships and joint business value of various actors
• Effective partnerships provide a ‘win-win’ situation for all
partners, and should be based on shared objectives
• Partnership advance partners’ mutual interests, mobilizing their
strengths and resources in a transparent and equitable manner

3. Agricultural research for rural prosperity: Rethinking the pathways www.scienceforum2016.org
Types of partnerships
• Partnerships in agriculture and rural development can take the
form of;
• Collaborations (e.g. multi-disciplinary teams working
together to deliver a common goal)
• Linkages (e.g. supply links, production links)
• Contracts (e.g. out-grower schemes, contract farming)
• Co-financed investment projects
• Creating the right conditions to link smallholder farmers to
various partners requires;
• Farmers to be technically equipped & organised
• Access to research and technology,
• Enabling policy environment, receptive business sector,
and effective partnership facilitation

4. Agricultural research for rural prosperity: Rethinking the pathways www.scienceforum2016.org
The good seed initiative (GSI)
• GSI is a partnership project working in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania,
Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan)
• Funded by B&MGF and led by CABI
• The aim of GSI is to contribute to food and nutritional security and
livelihoods of smallholder farmers and other actors in seed and vegetable
value chains, targeting African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs)
• Strategic objectives of the initiative
• build the capacity of farmers to produce high quality seed
• support links between smallholder growers and seed companies
• support development of farmer-led seed enterprises
• raise awareness of best practices in seed production
• promote consumption of AIVs to raise demand for seed and produce

5. Examples of target Crops
Spiderplant Nightshade
Crotalaria
Amaranthus
African eggplantOkra Pumpkin

6. Agricultural research for rural prosperity: Rethinking the pathways www.scienceforum2016.org
GSI approaches
• Partnerships and linkages
– CABI works with partners along the seed value chain – Producers, Research institutions,
Government ministries, Extension, Private sector (seed companies), Media, Academia and CSOs
• Action research
– Involving farmers to try out various innovations and evaluating their effectiveness in addressing
issues at farm level
– Characterisation of farmer-preferred land races to develop descriptors
• Gender-sensitive approaches
– Gender sensitive programming and deliberate targeting of women as value chain actors
• Farmer entrepreneurship
– Particularly focusing on seed. Farmers grow AIV seed for sale to other farmers and to private
sector, earning income for their families
• Policy dialogue
– Discussion on seed related policies and standards, and engagement with policy to provide
appropriate quality assurance support to seed producers
• Innovation platforms
– Multi-stakeholder platforms to discuss issues pertaining to the subsector, finding joint solutions

7. Agricultural research for rural prosperity: Rethinking the pathways www.scienceforum2016.org
Notable achievements
• Farmer groups technically equipped
– Seed producers trained in AIV seed and leafy vegetable production with support from government extension,
Ministry of Agriculture
– Quality AIV seed, meeting quality standards of purity and germination. Eg four groups in Uganda produced 235
kg of AIV seed in one season, earning over $3000
• Farmers strategically linked to markets
• Farmers access extension and quality assurance
– Linkages to extension services provided continued technical support to farmers for seed production
– Linkage with national seed certification agencies ensured that farmers produced seed as per standard. NSCA
inspect the seed production and provide certificate of quality.
• Characterisation of AIV varieties
– Together with research institutes developed descriptors for landraces – malakwang (Hibiscuss spp, pumpkin,
spider plant, African eggplant. Research organisations producing foundation seed of these AIVs
• Increased incomes and nutrition
– Increased household incomes by producers as a result of linkages to markets
– Increased consumption of AIVs as a result of promotion activities, which subsequently contributes to better
nutrition
• Policy and standards for AIV seed production and marketing agreed

8. Agricultural research for rural prosperity: Rethinking the pathways www.scienceforum2016.org
Unique contribution of the partnership
• The partnership approach used;
– Targeted value chain actors, each with specific support functions to the
subsector
– Established formal contracts and service level agreements. E.g. out-grower and
production agreements between seed companies and seed producers
– Generated evidence and engaged public institutions in policy dialogue and
establishment of regulation for AIV seed production and marketing. Public
institutions provided guidelines for seed production, inspection and marketing
– Multi-stakeholder innovation platforms identified key issues and joint actions to
address them
– Multi-pronged approach, including research, policy, development, partnership
– Focus on entire value chain - production, marketing, consumption. Promotion of
AIV consumption for example stimulated local demand for seed
– Characterisation of landraces with research, to get them to the market especially

9. KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE
xie-xiezikomo
thank youurakoze
terima kasih
ke itumetse
dhanyawaad
merci efharistó
Assalamualikum
takkiitos
शुक्रिया
ありがとう
gracias
zikomo
danke
thank you
Monica K. Kansiime, CABI Africa
m.kansiime@cabi.org