Presentatie for the 'Seed Security for Food Security' Seminar, side event of the World Food Prize / Borlaug Dialog 2017. Des Moines, Iowa, 17 October 2017

1. How is the seed industry contributing
to smallholder farmer productivity?
Des Moines, 17 October 2017

2. Private sector engagment is seen as crucial for achieving
the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030

3. Multiple industry benchmarks track industry performance
on the SDG-agenda

4. A growing global coalition to track and boost company performance
towards the Sustainable Development Goals
Selection of founding partners, donors and allies, see https://www.worldbenchmarkingalliance.org
Investors and banking Global community Civil Society Business community Governments

5. Improving smallholder farmer productivity is now seen
as one of the most important targets on the SDG agenda

6. The yearly Goalkeepers Report tracks progress on 18 indicators included in the
SDGs fundamental to people’s health and wellbeing…

7. …but on the most important indicator for
agriculture – smallholder productivity – it lacks relevant data

8. Create transparency on current activities
to clarify and understand the role of the seed industry
Provide an evidence base to the conversation
on where and how the seed industry can step up its efforts
Encourage seed companies to step up efforts
guided by a multi-stakeholder agenda and inspiration from peers
Help identify private sector partners
based on insights in strengths, portfolio, presence
Objectives of the
Access to Seeds Index

9. The Access to Seeds Index is developed in an Index Cycle
to monitor progress and refine methodology
Index
Development
Consultations
& Dialogue
Methodology
development
Farmer Roundtable
Ouagadougou, October 2016
Regional Expert Review Committees
2016 Access to Seeds Index

10. Only a small proportion of seed currently used by smallholder farmers in sub-
Saharan Africa comes directly from seed companies
3% Bought (formal sector, certified)
From agrodealers / companies
5% Other
61% Bought (informal sector)
On local markets,
from neighbours
31% Farm saved seeds
Sources of
seeds used
by smallholder
farmers
Averages for Sub-Saharan Africa
(Source: Catholic Relief Services, 2015)

11. To develop the methodology for the first Access to Seeds Index, five
questions needed to be addressed
What is Access to Seeds?
Which crops are relevant for smallholders?
Which companies to include in the evaluation?
What do we expect from those companies?
In which regions are smallholder farmers active?



12. Farmer consultations resulted in a definition of
‘Access to Seeds’ with six dimensions



13. Three indicators were used to determine the geographic scope:
(1) smallholder presence, (2) food insecurity, (3) agricultural potential
Latin America
Western Africa
Eastern Africa
South and
Southeast Asia



14. The Index focuses on food crops: the main field and vegetable crops in the
four regions, based on area harvested
Field crops Vegetables



15. The Access to Seeds Index focuses on three groups
of leading companies in the seed industry
Global leaders
field crops
Global leaders
vegetable seed
Regional
leaders
National, niche, cooperatives


Revenues
Number of companies

16. Seven measurement areas
Each with four types of indicators
• Commitment
• Performance
• Transparency
• Innovation
Weighted scorecard approach
Total score is sum of weighted
indicator scores in all areas
Relative ranking
Comparing companies with
each other, not to an ideal state
The Index assesses company activities
in seven areas, based on stakeholder expectations



17. Global seed companies are active in all regions,
with a clear gap in West Africa

18. Industry benchmarks showed clear differences in current commitments and
performance of companies

19. Regional seed companies play a key role in
reaching the smallholder farmer
Presence regional
companies
Presence global
companies

20. Global seed companies work on a broad crop porfolio,
further complemented by regional seed companies

21. Availability
Mobile seed shops to
reach local markets
Victoria Seeds
Uganda
Autonomy
Marketing affordable
OPV varieties
Kenya Seed Company
Kenya, Uganda,
Rwanda
Profitability
Connecting farmers
to output markets
DuPont Pioneer
Ethiopia
Suitability
Breeding station for local
crops and varieties
RijkZwaan
East-West Seed
Tanzania
Best practices: the Index identified practical examples of company activities in all
dimensions of ‘access’
Affordability
Seed insurance
against weather risks
Syngenta
Kenya, Tanzania,
Rwanda
Capability
Education programs
throughout the region and
tracking number of
smallholders reached
Seed Co
Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi,
Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia,
Zimbabwe

22. Regional seed companies in general do not have
their own breeding programs for vegetables

23. Findings of the first Access to Seeds Index have
triggered debates and policy makers
Media exposure in over
200 outlets worldwide
Ongoing dialogue with farmers,
companies, governments
Responses by policy makers
and regulators

24. For the 2018 Index will also include regional benchmarks
for West Africa and Asia

25. All the data is added to the public domain and
freely available via our reports and website
W www.accesstoseeds.org
E info@accesstoseeds.org

26. www.accesstoseeds.org