2. Women-led Seed System Models
Community-based seed reinvestment
Odisha: Multiple NGOs & DoA
Individual seed production
Women SHG-led aggregation, dissemination
Obligatory contribution to community seed
reserve
Village level seed bank and seed business
Uttar Pradesh: RGMVP
Individual seed production
Seedbank at SHG Village Organization level
Seedbank-led aggregation
Voluntary contribution to seed reserve
Financial transactions
Connected to local market
Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO)
Uttar Pradesh: GEAG
Individual farmer level production
Village Resource Committee (VRC) managed
Women SHGs involved and engaged in seed
collection and processing
VRC led aggregation
Branding and marketing
Farmer Producer Company (FPC)
Uttar Pradesh: GDS
A multi commodity FPC
Some women members in FPC
Individual production and member led
aggregation
FPC governed seed production and marketing
Governing body for operations
Seed Producer Ag Co-operatives and Seed Producer Groups (SPG); Nepal: IAAS
Individual seed producers; Aggregation in some/individual sale in others
Some women groups, some mixed groups, Seed diversification in some cases
3. Models: Self-Help groups &
Federations;
Seed Producer groups; Seed co-
operatives; Farmer Producer
organization;
Farmer producer Company
Access to good quality
seed to women &
vulnerable social groups
Motivation to
engage in
production and
distribution
Do women-led
models serve
women better?
Women’s Economic
empowerment through
production & entrepreneurial
engagement
Outcomes for seed
producers and users
Sustainability and
viability of models
4. • Engagement of women as seed producers is often the result of deliberate
targeting strategies by projects/interventions
• Engagement often through collectives and proves to be an effective strategy –
strong moral economy
• Access to new germplasm and good quality seed main motives for women to
engage to enhance their food security, followed by market demand (income
generation)
• Less formal the institutional models, higher is the engagement of and benefits to
women
• Higher engagement in value chains beyond production, but increased drudgery
too
• Women users prefer seed from women producers – access and trust
• Diversification into other seeds, market demand and linkages, institutional
linkages critical for sustainability and viability
5. • Requires additional and different resources: technologies, land,
water, marketing – who has access to these?
• If knowledge and skills are available to women increase agency to
negotiate access to and use of resources
• Women share knowledge in household and community. Contributing
to household income, increases voice, respect and self-esteem
• Gender based constraints analysis for seed production – essential to
understand equity and inclusion in seed production
6. • Models used to be guided by purpose and
context
• enhance food security
• women have access to good quality seed
• women have seed-security and are self-
reliant
• women engage in seed production as
entrepreneurs
Women-led seed systems - which model to use?
7. Reach
Benefit
Empower
Transform
Include women
in program
activities
Increase women’s
well-being (e.g.
food security,
income, health)
Strengthen ability of women to
make strategic life choices and to
put those choices into action
Number or
proportion of
women
participating in a
project activity
Positive and negative
outcome indicators
such as productivity,
income, assets,
nutrition, time use etc.
Women’s decision
making power;
reduction of
outcomes
associated with
disempowerment
Gender integration Changed power
relations and
structures
Changes in
individual and
collective norms;
Changes in
structural barriers
and institutions
8. • Guide the key interventions, respond to women’s needs, preferences
and priorities (based on a robust targeting strategy and situational
analysis)
• For drawing women into seed as an enterprise-require business plan
and enterprise development trainings (from practitioners)-more
exposure needed
• Facilitate selection of partner organisations based on their gender
responsiveness to extension and advisory services (EAS/RAS)
• Initiate a culture of cross learning from partners who have been able
to showcase women empowerment on the ground
• Support capacity building of all project staff to integrate gender
meaningfully, not merely the partner organisations
Targeted gender strategy for seed systems
