Table 1: A Comparison of the Seed Sector Indices Characteristics Seed Indices EBA/ World Bank ATSI/ASF TASAI ABDI NSD/BMGF Objectives Examines and monitors key regulations that govern the agribusiness sector. By focusing on key elements of the food production and distribution value chain, EBA hopes to promote regulatory systems that enable sustainable and inclusive agribusinesses to take root and thrive. Seeks to create transparency on current activities of companies to clarify and understand the role of the seed industry. ATSI provides an evidence base to the conversation on where and how the seed industry can play a role. It aims to encourage seed companies to step up their efforts guided by a multi-stakeholder agenda and inspiration from peers. Promotes the creation and maintenance of enabling environments for competitive seed systems serving African farmers. It is this enabling environment that TASAI seeks to measure, track, and compare across African countries. The entry point is diversity. The ABDI is a consistent, long-term monitoring system for agrobiodiversity. The purpose is to measure and manage agricultural biodiversity in food systems and to guide and stimulate public and private sector policies and investments in food systems – e.g., green bonds. The National Seed Dashboard seeks to: Inform BMGF’s own smallholder farmer (SHF) Strategy Foster transparency and accountability in the agriculture sector Begin to harmonize agricultural measurements across sectors Support governments to better diagnose their underlying system challenges by identifying where performance is lacking Regional / Country Focus Covers 40 countries worldwide; plan to scale up to 62 countries. In Africa, countries include: Burkina Faso Burundi Cote D’Ivoire The Access to Seeds Index focuses on 48 countries in four regions with a strong smallholder presence; food security challenge; and agricultural potential: South and Southeast Asia (12 countries) Four pilot countries (2013-14; 2015: Kenya South Africa Uganda Zimbabwe Expanding to cover COMESA countries under COMSIS Global in focus. Specific countries to be determined. ‘Pioneer countries’ for first phase (2017) - Ethiopia, Peru, Nepal and Italy Applied to BMGF countries in 3 countries in Africa - Ethiopia, Nigeria and Tanzania and 3 states in India
marketing (Seed, Fertilizer, Machinery, Finance, Transport and Markets Use secondary data from WB and governments Not measuring the Seed System – but focusing on the Legal and Regulatory Environment Raw data is presented by country with each data point used to score countries Country profiles are created with scores in each topic for each indicator: - score in one topic are broken down by indicator + time and cost for smallholder farmers in developing countries. The methodology was developed through a process of extensive stakeholder consultation and expert review. The ATSI 2016 focuses on global seed companies and regional companies in Eastern Africa. 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 that are important to food security Use secondary data, primary data from industry surveys, key informants and expert knowledge Emphasis on formal sector Innovation Enabling environment – Score Card ABD Index and Tracker Tool – circular linkages between: Food systems Conservation systems Seed systems Farming Systems Genetic diversity for major crops Species diversity Functional diversity e.g. soil fertility, nutrition, climate change adaptation Social diversity Plan to reuse and layerdifferent secondary datasets – (‘big data’): e.g. FAO genetic resources + fill in some gaps with ‘crowd-sourced’ data (directly from Outputs will be produced for two key stakeholder groups: Public and private investors and Consumers and civil society and a few externals) Recognize that these are only starting points Learning from other successful Score Cards and Dashboards – start simple, evolve over time, add new ones gradually over time: Agricultural Transformation Agricultural Productivity Livestock Fertilizer Extension Systems Gender Food Security Nutrition Policy Land (planned) Infrastructure (planned) R&D (planned) and Seed Systems Adapted Logic Model from Gates’ PHCI initiative Focus on Logic Model Framework for Assessing Seed Sector – like Logframe on surface Indicators 16 seeds indicators clustered into 3 categories: Encouragement of The Index assesses company activities in seven areas with in total 73 indicators: 16 indicators divided into 5 categories: Research & development Focus on four dimensions of sustainable food system dimensions: Developed Logic Model for Assessing Seed Sector across the five dimensions along
plant breeding Seed registration Seed development and certification Governance & strategy Public policy & stakeholder engagement Genetic resources & intellectual property Research & development Marketing & sales Capacity building Local seed sector advancement (Global index); Production (Regional index) Industry competitiveness Service to smallholder farmers Seed policy and regulations Institutional support Nutritious, diverse diets Productive and resilient farms and landscapes Farmers’ access to quality, diverse seeds (seed specific dimension) Integrated conservation of ABD The third dimension on ‘Farmers’ access to quality, diverse seeds’ includes: Diversity in seed systems Diversity in production Diversity in markets and consumption Diversity in conservation efforts It also emphasizes the links / interactions between these elements chain with 12 indicators: System - Policies and regulation (national); Systems and processes (national) Inputs - Financing (national); Infrastructure and institutional resources (national), Human resources (national) Delivery - ‘The missing middle’ – hard to get to this level of granularity – but need to link the system and inputs and delivery to the outputs and outcomes – Multiplication (by crop/crop type/geographies), Quality (by crop/crop type/geographies); Distribution (geography), Promotion (extension – by Geography) Outputs - Availability, Financing Outcomes - SHF
Use (by crop/crop type/geography) Each of these areas has a set of indicators behind them Governance EBA is a partnership within the WBG between the Agriculture Global Practice and Development Economics Global Indicators experts. Support from several donors includes: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK Department for International Development, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the United States Agency for International Development and the Government of The Netherlands. The Index is published every two years by the Access to Seeds Foundation, an independent organization supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Dutch Ministries of Economic and Foreign Affairs. TASAI is a collaborative initiative between Cornell International Institute for Food and Agricultural Development and Market Matters Inc. partners include local agricultural universities, seed traders’ associations, relevant government departments as well as NGOs working in seed sector development. Governance arrangements are still being sorted out. It may require different governance structures for the country and investor audiences / stakeholders Managed by the Agriculture Development Program of BMGF Next Steps Production and distribution of EBA 2017 WB country offices engaging with governments: integration in policy dialogue Engaging more with CSOs, private companies and research community – Using Company scorecards to inform individual companies Next ASTI report will be produced in 2018; will be collecting data and extending the analysis during 2017 Regional Indexes will be developed to focus on leading seed companies in each of COMESA Seed Information Systems (COMSIS) - ISSD Africa, TASAI and ReSAKSS Partnership - Plan to combine existing tools to set up comprehensive seed information system for COMESA Launch event at CBD event in Mexico in December 2016 Jan 2017 – launch of Feasibility study in pioneer countries – Ethiopia, Peru, Nepal, and Italy – and with private partners Developing investment instrument with private sector stakeholders Planning to
Too many metrics – kills the power of indices Most indices are on field crops 3. Gaps CAADP – language not clear Lack of value chain approach Missing regional dimension – e.g. Import-export of seed; supply and demand across the region; harmonisation; PPPs Linkages with the informal sector Difficult to say whether the seed sector is really serving smallholder farmers – need to drill down (e.g. DNA finger-printing) Ownership and interpretation of data – not demand driven Markets are regional; Has implications on national indices Largely missing focus on informal seed systems Access and transparency related to data on seed sector performance for regional planning and policy making Linkages with existing information systems missing / not clear Inclusion of informal seed sector – lack of indicators in each index Weak focus on West and Central Africa. Much better coverage in East and Southern Africa region Insights into market size, behaviours, preferences, values Quality control in the seed value chain (e.g. vegetatively propagated seed) Linkages with research and development organisations missing Economic indicators – e.g. farm gate price, seed affordability, yield performance Quantity and quality of seed for all crops Info on user / public on various indices / no confusion Consultations with national stakeholders Generally lack of actionable indicators – quantify certain indicators to drive action Performance of informal seed sector not addressed
Table 3 Composite Table of the Information Requirements on Seed Sector Performance by the Six Stakeholder Groups A. Systems B. Inputs C. Delivery D. Outputs D.+E. Outputs / Outcomes E. Outcomes Enabling policies No. of accessions in crop improvement progs Continental/ regional Coordination Number of local / regional priority crops with certified seeds available Seed system meets demand of chain Status of Seed policies/regulations ICT utilisation in the seed sector Number of varieties released in last 3 years Utilisation of quality seed by farmers Quality of seed regulatory system Access to publicly released varieties Knowledge transfer and capacity building (e.g. ICT) Farmers choices of seed bred for their particular needs Percentage of farmers using quality seed Variety protection / Info on germplasm and modalities for (exclusive) access volume of seed imports / exports under REC label Performance of improved crop varieties Farmers knowledge on end use of new improved varieties Number seed companies / Agroecology adaptation of new varieties Demand of use of improved crop varieties Extent of certification process Geospatial mapping – abiotic/biotic; Tailored financial products and services for seed businesses Crop variety development Utilisation of GMOs in Africa? Variety catalogue release and registration processes Organised domestic private breeders Financing opportunities for seed entreprises Seed sales parameters (price, credit, cash) seeds are affordable for farmers Adoption levels of new or improved crop seeds for specific crops Implementation of regulations – QA; variety mgmt. Up to date seed catalogue of released varieties Seed company uptake and promotion of new True-to-type, genetic purity of seed (binary) Seed variety renewal rate in farmers’ fields
public varieties Extent of management – number and composition seed system Registry of local varieties and list of CWR protected areas Current private sector operations – e.g. number of seed companies active Seed prices, especially relative to productivity potential Area weighted average number of years since purchase of officially released seeds (recycling) Vision and strategy for public expenditure Crop forecast analysis Seed entreprise development – Quantity of seed sold Average age of varieties Budgetary allocation to seed sector dev’t Human resources capacity Availability and efficiency of EGS Intra-African seed trade Percentage of annual crop area planted Level and distribution of public expenditure Membership of international seed organisations Average distance from agro-dealers Yield productivity, data (land, labour), on-farm use (LSMS), ) Recognition of STAs in agric agenda STA governance change and membership Mechanisms available to farmers to access seeds Public sector investment in seed Quality of Seed Traders Associations Availability of seed at farmer level Productive African seed sector – impact! Investment in the seed sector Affordability of seed, Phytosanitary issues Quality of seed as required by end-user ‘Coding by colour: National RECs CAADP Private Sector Dev’t Orgs Donors
Clustering of Emerging Themes Systems On the basis of the matrix in Table 3, the following theme systems emerged: Seed policy and regulation implementation – being addressed by EBA and TASAI Public expenditure relevant to seed sector – a lot of question marks about how this will be addressed and work to be done – looking at National Agricultural Investment Plans and commitment to seed sector development Inputs R&D / breeding / crop improvement – to some degree, measured already – especially publicly bred varieties Information management – statistics / data for monitoring – still lacking - inadequate capacity development – both public sector and private (STAs) Delivery Quite diverse – many topics / information requirements Coordination of delivery systems – at different levels Outputs Much emphasis on number and type of preferred varieties Some specific issues Outcomes Whole cloud on use of quality seed of farmer-preferred varieties Understanding of availability, affordability, quality and accessibility (both output/outcome) 4.4 Points of Emphasis – Interests of Stakeholders The differing interests of the Stakeholders were noted as follows: National – more focus on Systems, Inputs and Delivery RECS and Donors – more on Outputs and Outcomes CAADP, Development Organizations and Private Sector–interests are spread across the spectrum 4.5 Important Observations from the matrix matching supply with demand From left to right across the matrix (i.e. from Systems e.g.Regulatory to Outcome), both the ease and cost of data collection increases It is logical that the indices presented tend to skew to the left