Seed systems in developing countries

The formal seed sector is an official or private control of seed monitored through the entire process of breeding, multiplication, processing and storage, leading to the final product.

 

The informal seed sector is simply the farmers themselves that provide each other and themselves with seed for sowing. This seed may be cleaned manually, but is otherwise untreated and thus a potential carrier of various diseases. 

 
In industrialized countries, the formal seed sector provides the vast majority of seed to farmers, while both seed systems are present in developing countries. Despite large investments in formal seed systems in developing countries over the past 30 years, the vast majority, about 90–95%, of smallholder farmers' seed demands are still met by informal sources at farm and community level. 

 

Although the informal seed sector provides a dynamic and flexible system of seed supply, usage, handling, trade and exchange, continuous use of untested seed inevitably leads to a degeneration of the seed quality - genetically, physiologically and seed health wise. Farmers depend on their own seed for sowing, not only because of the inadequate access to seeds from the formal seed sector, but also because the formal seed sector more often provides seeds of a limited range of cultivars and varieties, which not always fulfil the needs of the farmers to diversify the production. In addition, the high cost of these seeds quite often make them unattainable for the poor farmers. On-farm growing and maintenance of locally adapted landraces, cultivars and wild species help the farmer decrease the impact of a series of production constraints like drough, tflooding, heat, cold, pests and diseases. In many developing countries, problems created by seed-borne diseases are ignored and control measures unknown or inadequate. The consequence is often poor seed quality, dissemination and build-up of seed-borne diseases and yields far below the potential. 

 

The quality of the seed must be known before it is sown. A farmer using only healthy seed will be able to increase the yield and quality of his harvest dramatically. However, the health and quality of a seed is not always apparent to the naked eye.

Seed supply from both the formal and informal systems suffers from a series of problems due to the lack of economic resources for education, research and quality control.

 

The following problems are addressed at DSHC:

1. Low quality of seeds
2. Limited use of clean and healthy seed by farmers and seed producers
3. Problems of seed health in crop improvement programmes
4. Indiscriminate use of pesticides as seed treatment
5. Lack of trained manpower in seed pathology
6. Lack of facilities and seed health testing equipment
7. Lack of knowledge on the significance of seed-borne infections in the field as compared to other means of transmission e.g. soil and collateral hosts
8. Insufficient transfer of technologies suitable for subsistence farmers

Small-scale seed production in certain developing countries deals with the "quality declared seed system of FAO/ SIDA". Standards are established or adjusted according to countries. The quality of seed is to be controlled by the producer. The producer declares the quality of the seed, while the governmental local seed controlling agencies only control a part of the seed production (approx. 10%) with random control like spot-checking and field inspections. It is suggested that private laboratories and seed technologists nominated by government agencies should support the local extension services to guide the farmers' production and still may have the mandate to test breeders' basic and quality declared seed. This is what some programmes have mentioned as "Informal seed sector" under the ASPS of Danida.