![]() ![]() The Seed Trade Project engaged numerous stakeholders in the seed sector-including member states, national seed authorities, national plant protection organizations, private seed companies, seed associations, civil society organizations, and international partners-to operationalize HSRS by translating The Technical Agreements on Harmonization of Seed Regulations in the SADC Regions into actionable items. This project became the Feed the Future Southern Africa Seed Trade Project (Seed Trade Project), led by DAI from 2016 to 2022. Agency for International Development (USAID) Southern Africa Mission partnered with the SADC to accelerate implementation of the Seed Security Network by designing a project that sought to improve the availability of and access to high-quality seed in member states by harmonizing national seed policies with the regional standards, and leveraging private sector investments to increase agricultural productivity, profitability, resilience, and food security. Unfortunately, the system yielded few tangible results. In 2001, SADC recognized the importance to move on the HSRS and introduced the SADC Seed Security Network, which was instrumental in creating technical agreements between member states. The SADC Harmonized Seed Regulatory System (HSRS), a set of guidelines for seed production and export that all SADC member states agreed on, created a common legal framework with agreed standards, rules, and procedures. In response to these interconnected issues, SADC, in the late 1980s, conceived a strategy for standardizing seed laws across the region. With limited movement of seed from countries in surplus to those in need, smallholder farmers have relied on either using inappropriate seeds for their ecological conditions or counterfeit seeds that diminish productivity. Seed markets remained segregated and seed security continued to elude farmers, resulting in low production and productivity, and higher risk of crop failure. ![]() ![]() These small national variations among regulations-related to variety release, seed certification, and quality control, as well as quarantine and phytosanitary regulations-lead to increased transactional costs and duplicative procedures across countries, which in turn raise costs and increase the time required to get seeds to farmers. Historically, trade in seeds has been curtailed by a lack of mutual recognition for seed certification and quality assurance standards between countries. Access to the appropriate seed varieties-particularly in the face of rapid climate change-is critical to increasing incomes and food security for smallholder farmers, yet this continues to be a challenge in the region. Seventy percent of the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) population depends on agriculture for food, income, and employment. ![]()
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