Production Of Quality Seed Of African Indigenous Vegetables Training Manual

Abstract

African indigenous vegetables (AIV) have traditionally been a significant contributor to food security and nutrition for smallholder farmers in East Africa and are also important in providing incomes, particularly for women who sell vegetables at local markets to supplement their income. However, the potential to meet a growing demand for these vegetables has been limited by lack of good quality seed. In Africa , less than ten per cent of the seed planted is purchased from the formal market. In order to achieve increased uptake by farmers, sufficient quantities of seed of preferred varieties should be available and accessible. The best way of achieving this target is through on farm seed production by establishing sustainable farmer-led seed enterprises. The Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) facilitated a partnership of organisations, led by CABI , to work on a project to scale up farmer-led seed enterprises in Kenya and Tanzania, testing three seed production models. The project was implemented in collaboration with Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARl) Kisii, Kenya Seed Company Ltd. (KSC) and Technical Adoption Through Research Organisation (TATRO) with Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS) playing a key role in seed quality control in Kenya. The partners in Tanzania included, Horticultural Research and Training Institute Tengeru (HORTI-Tengeru), Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute (TOSCI), INADES-Formation Tanzania and AVRDC-The World Vegetable Centre, Regional Centre for Africa.