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NORGLOBAL2-Norge - global partner

Access to seeds: from Emergencies to Seed System development (ACCESS)

Alternative title: Tilgang til såfrø: Fra nødhjelp til langsiktig frøsystemutvikling (ACCESS)

Awarded: NOK 8.9 mill.

Seed is a fundamental asset for the majority of rural households in Sub Saharan Africa. Many development actors therefore focus on improving crop varieties and their associated supply systems. The research project ACCESS has generated research-based knowledge and innovations for seed security for humanitarian and long-term agri-food system development in Malawi, Tanzania and Ethiopia. Seed security is defined by the FAO as «ready access by rural households, particularly farmers and farming communities, to adequate quantities of quality seed and planting materials of crop varieties, adapted to their agro-ecological conditions and socioeconomic needs, at planting time, under normal and abnormal weather conditions» ACCESS has been carried out by an international and multidisciplinary research group representing crop science, economics, political science, development studies and law. We have combined analyses of large national survey data sets with choice experiments and in-depth studies of seed sources and varietal preferences at the household level. This quantitative evidence is contextualized with analyses of the political and legal frame conditions. In 2021 we saw a breakthrough for the theme of ACCESS at the international development policy scene. At the Food Systems Summit in New York September 2021, the Norwegian prime minister said the following in her address: «We will empower the smallholder farmer in our development assistance. We will place farmers at the core of the seed system. Seed security is key.» This statement and other outcomes of the process leading up to the summit is partly the result of outreach and co-production of knowledge and development approaches researchers in ACCESS have engaged in. The current Norwegian government has maintained the focus on genetic resources and seed security as can be seen for example in this press release https://www.regjeringen.no/no/aktuelt/safrosikkerhet/id2927839/ The project website reports both scientific and popular science dissemination. Insights from the research is communicated through op-eds and contributions at events about agricultural development and sustainable food systems, as well as dissemination through social media. Several of the researchers in ACCESS are active contributors in national and international policy processes of direct relevance for farmers' access to seeds, including the reference-group for the Norwegian Action plan on sustainable food systems in the context of Norwegian foreign and development policy and the Norwegian delegation to the Governing Body of the Plant Treaty (ITPGRFA), the expert group on Farmers' Rights and the alliance for seed security in the UNFSS process. Through these and other fora we work with farmers, national and international strategic seed system actors to co-produce knowledge and innovate for seed system development. This transdisciplinary approach to knowledge production and sharing was a core objective of ACCESS.

The academic articles/chapters published in ACCESS are co-authored by researchers with a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds; from crop science, economics, political science, development studies and law. Thus, a valuable outcome from ACCESS is the fertile ground it has created for multi and inter-disciplinarity in research and education within the theme of seed system development. The lasting impacts of this academic cross-pollination is exemplified by the postgraduate course on smallholder seed system development, organized for the first time in 2023 and with new editions planned for 2024 and 2026. Another example is the new research project BOLD which was established in the continuation/context of ACCESS involving participants with diverse disciplinary backgrounds, as well as the embedding of the seed system research group within the cross-faculty initiative Sustainable Food System Arena. In the context of the Arena, researchers at NMBU are collaborating across faculties and disciplines in research, education and outreach to contribute to food system transformations. The engagement with stakeholders outside academia has borne many fruits, both short and long term. As elaborated on elsewhere in this report, researchers in ACCESS are engaged at many levels from being an advisor to Norad, different ministries (Foreign Affairs, Climate and Environment and Food and Agriculture) and civil society organizations working on themes relevant to seed and food system development. NMBU is also established as a research and knowledge partner for organizations working in this space internationally. Thus, ACCESS has been a trans-disciplinary project with lasting impacts on the policy and practice of seed system development.

Seed is a fundamental asset for the majority of rural households in Sub Saharan Africa. Seeds are also big business. This project aims to produce high quality, research-based knowledge on seed security as a core element of poverty reduction and sustainable development in Malawi, Tanzania and Ethiopia, to inform development policies and programmes, public and private investments and further research. The project particularly addresses two thematic areas of the call: “Humanitarian efforts” and “Business development and job creation”. In the humanitarian sector, the concept of Seed Security is established in the UN and other development organizations’ guidelines and policies, but further development of appropriate assessment tools and intervention options are needed. A seed security perspective on what enables and hinders farmers’ access to preferred varieties is furthermore crucial for programs aiming for inclusive economic growth and job creation within the seed sector of the agri-food system. The international and multidisciplinary research group from crop science, economics, political science, development studies and law will break new theoretical and empirical ground on the access dimension of seed security. We combine analysis of large national survey data sets with choice experiments and in-depth studies of seed sources and varietal preferences at the household level. This quantitative evidence is contextualized with analyses of the political and legal frame conditions. Together with international and national strategic actors, we will co-produce knowledge and innovate for seed system development. The project builds on ongoing research projects, and integrates with an EU H2020 project on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA). The project will deliver seven high quality peer-reviewed articles, three policy reports, and disseminate findings to key target development audiences as well as through popular press and social media.

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NORGLOBAL2-Norge - global partner