Putting farmers at the centre of the rice seed systems in Bangladesh

Poor farmers need cheap and easy access to quality seeds to improve their livelihoods. In Bangladesh, rice is a particularly important crop for smallholder farmers. What can be done to increase small farmers’ access to seed?

The Bangladeshigovernment liberalised the formal seed sector in 1998, but the delivery of seedsupplies remains inconsistent. Some large non-governmental organisations (NGOs)have developed their own seed systems, but these mainly benefit wealthierfarmers. The private sector mainly produces and sells vegetable seed, withlittle concern for rice.

Seeds developed by the National Rice ResearchInstitute are usually distributed through large NGOs and government agencies,which employ contract farmers to multiply it into ‘certified seed’. This isthen sold by dealers and selling centres. Seed rarely reaches smallholderfarmers through these pathways.

Recent researchfrom CAB International, UK, and the International Rice Research Institute, Philippines, reports on an innovative approach todecentralised seed production and distribution. The Farmseed model targets poorfarmers who have previously had little access to information about newvarieties or quality seed. This model was developed by the AgriculturalAdvisory Society (AAS), a Bangladeshi NGO, in partnership with local NGOs andcommunity-based organisations (CBOs). Official agreements were signed withgovernment organisations for providing foundation seed and technical training.

Farmseed creates a shortcut in the normalsupply chain for rice seeds. The programme enables seed farmers to make theirproduce available in local markets without it being channelled back to NGOs andgovernment agencies for processing and marketing. Foundation seed is packaged insmall quantities to match the needs of resource-poor seed farmers who can buythis seed and profit directly by multiplying it. Peer pressure ensures seedquality control. Other farmers participate in variety selection to ensure thatthey meet local needs. There are several key elements in the programme:

• Training the staff of partner NGOs andCBOs in quality rice seed production has allowed the model to spread.
• Poor farmers are excluded from manycredit groups in Bangladesh because they cannot afford to join. Farmseed has nocredit component and communities select their poorest members to participate.
• Community training enables men and womento learn about rice seed production and post-harvest technologies.
• A collective of seed producer groups, AASstaff and community members meet during the season to assess seed quality.
• AAS follows up what happens across thecountry through regular monitoring by local NGOs and CBOs.

Flexibility is vital to the success of anysystem which aims to support poorer farmers. The Farmseed model allowsseed-producing households to use their own strategies to produce, store,consume, sell and exchange seeds.

The success of this model provides some usefulpolicy implications:

• Motivating farmers and developingpro-poor seed enterprises requires investment, especially in the early stagesof a project. As a small, technical NGO, AAS may not be able to keep providingthe same level of service to poor farmers without support from the publicsector.
• Partnerships with CBOs work better thanpartnerships with local NGOs. This is because CBO members live in thecommunity, so there is no communication gap with poor farmers. To mobilisethese resources, intermediary organisations like AAS can play a vital role.