Seed can be an important entry point for promoting productivity, nutrition and resilience among smallholder farmers. While investments have primarily focused on strengthening the formal sector, this article documents the degree to which the informal sector remains the core for seed acquisition, especially in Africa. Conclusions drawn from a uniquely comprehensive data set, 9660 observations across six countries and covering 40 crops, show that farmers access 90.2 % of their seed from informal systems with 50.9 % of that deriving from local markets. Further, 55 % of seed is paid for by cash, indicating that smallholders are already making important investments in this arena. Targeted interventions are proposed for rendering formal and informal seed sector more smallholder-responsive and for scaling up positive impacts.

Varietal selection is particularly difficult for very heterogeneous environments where farmers have a range of preferences. To address these issues in Rwanda, local bean experts, generally women, are invited to the research station to assess cultivars and to select those they prefer for their plots. Farmers use observed yield as only one of several criteria to predict varietal performance in their more stressed home environments. The varieties they choose are often higher yielding on-farm and are retained longer by farmers than those selected by the breeders. The results of early farmer involvement also compare favourably with those of the standard breeding programme in terms of enhanced genetic diversity and reduced research costs. There are few pre-conditions for developing such a client-driven breeding programme.Papel del agricultor en la selection de variedades para una estation investigation RESUMEN La selection de variedades resulta particularmente dificil para los ambientes muy heterogeneos en los que los agricultores cuentan con una diversidad de preferencias. En Rwanda, para solucionar este inconveniente, los expertos en porotos locales, generalmente las mujeres, son invitadas a la estacion de investigacion para evaluar las variedades de cultivo y seleccionar las de su preferencia para sus propias parcelas. Los agricultores utilizan el rendimiento observado como uno de los muchos criterios para pronosticar el rendimiento de las variedades en las condiciones mas adversas de sus propias parcelas. Las variedades escogidas generalmente son las de mayor rendimiento en finca, y son retenidas por los agricultores durante mucho mas tiempo que las variedades seleccionadas por los reproductores de semillas. Los resultados de esta temprana participation de los agricultores tambien se compararon favorablemente con los de los programas de reproduction estandar en lo que se refiere a la mejora de la diversidad genetica y la reduction de los costos de investigacion. Existen pocas condiciones previas para el dessarrollo de un programa de reproduction dirigido por sus propios clientes tal como el que aqui se presenta.

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SUMMARYInformal markets receive little attention from governments and researchers, despite their centrality to farmers' seed security. This paper documents the importance of informal markets for supplying seed and restocking critical plant genetic resources in normal and stress periods. It analyses farmers' rationales for using such markets and their strategic actions in selecting out seed from grain. Conceptual aids for differentiating among market goods -grain, 'implicit seed' and seed -are presented, including tracing of agro-ecological seed sources, traders' seed management behaviour and seed/grain price patterns. Ethiopian case material gives rare insight into how different scales of traders manage the seed/grain divide. Better understanding of informal markets is an important precursor to strengthening them as such markets have unrealized potential to deliver more and higher quality seed, and a greater range of modern and local varieties. Support for informal seed markets could usefully feature in rural livelihood and social protection programmes, but this will require basic shifts in interventions and further refinements in market analysis.

Seed aid is increasingly applied as an emergency response throughout Africa. This article describes its rise, its goals and the seed security principles which should shape it. Drawing on evidence of the effects of disaster, the article reviews the appropriateness of current seed aid responses and suggests ways to link the type of seed security problem with the type of response employed. Direct seed distribution, the dominant form, seems suited for a subset of conditions when farmers procure seed through formal channels and when seed is not sufficiently available in an area. Seed vouchers and fairs may be more widely applicable as this approach strengthens channels that farmers normally use (both formal and informal) and addresses the more common problem of farmers' lack of access to seed. Key for improving seed aid is a better understanding of how local seed markets function, as these provide a core of seed security in normal and stress periods.