The seed system in most countries in the Asia Pacific region consists of public, private and civil sectors. Even though the private sector is increasing its share in the market, it is the civil sector that produces most seed for the majority of crops, i.e. farmers saving and exchanging seed. A much larger share of the market, however, is covered with varieties that have been developed by the formal sector.
Modern varieties move from farmer to farmer once formally released.
Seed laws that regulate variety release and seed quality have been developed with the aim of protecting farmers from planting poor quality seed. At the same time it is exactly these seed laws that appear to be a major bottleneck in the development of a diversified seed system. This makes it very difficult for private seed producers to enter the market with their own varieties, and for NGO-initiatives to promote and improve locally adapted farmers' varieties. There is a move towards relaxing these seed laws in many countries. In other countries, the definition of seed is changed from any plant material intended for the production of a new crop to any planting materials offered for sale in closed and labeled containers .