Seed policies and regulatory reforms

This chapter explores how policies, programs, and regulations related to seed and genetic resources are evolving across Africa, and whether these changes have the potential to improve farmers’ access to improved cultivars and quality seed. Several signs of progress in seed system development are highlighted and challenges that still lie ahead have been identified. The authors caution against a one-size-fits-all approach to seed system development and encourage more thoughtful discourse on the myriad issues influencing the public policies that shape Africa’s seed systems, including the sensitive political economy issues that influence policies and practices in the seed systems and market development.