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Stay here worldbenchmarkingalliance.orgDarusalam Seed Company was established in 2007. Prior to the civil war, the company worked with Somalia’s Seed Multiplication Center, agricultural research station and entities from the Somali National University, all institutions that were once supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, USAID, FAO and the Government of Italy. After the war ended, the company established itself as an independent seed company. Apart from providing seed for both field and vegetable crops, the company also offers fertilizers, other farm inputs and machinery. Smallholder farmers constitute the company’s main clientele. Its main crops are maize, cowpea and sesame.
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Access to Seeds Index
Eastern and Southern Africa
Darusalam Seed Company ranks 20th in the Eastern and Southern Africa Index, debuting toward the bottom of the ranking albeit while displaying notable activities in relation to smallholder farmers. The company performs best in Seed Production, where it is committed to enhancing regional agricultural productivity by contracting smallholder outgrowers on an annual basis. The company is notable for its Governance & Strategy, working with local farmer organizations to enhance the local seed sector; Capacity Building, through its establishment of an agricultural high school; and Research & Development, working in collaboration with FAO and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) on an innovative approach, 'push-pull' technology, to tackle stem borers in sorghum and maize, a regionally important pest problem. The company’s lowest score in Genetic Resources is attributable to a lack of disclosure and dedicated activities.
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| Sales | Seed type | Source | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| som | Hybrid | OPV | GM | Own breeding program |
Public research institute |
Licensed from other company |
|||||
| Field crops | |||||||||||
| Beans, dry | |||||||||||
| Cowpea | |||||||||||
| Maize | |||||||||||
| Sesame | |||||||||||
| Sorghum | |||||||||||
| Vegetables | |||||||||||
| Carrot | |||||||||||
| Lettuce | |||||||||||
| Melon | |||||||||||
| Okra | |||||||||||
| Onion | |||||||||||
| Pepper (hot) | |||||||||||
| Pepper (sweet) | |||||||||||
| Pumpkin | |||||||||||
| Tomato | |||||||||||
| Watermelon | |||||||||||
Darusalam Seed Company is one of three index companies present in Somalia and the only one with activities beyond sales. The company tests, processes and produces seed and provides annual seasonal agronomic training to smallholder farmers via three dedicated extension staff.
Darusalam Seed Company can formalize its commitment to improving access to seeds for smallholder farmers, a key customer group, by incorporating clear targets and a tracking mechanism through which to assess progress.
The company reports having a principled code of conduct that demonstrates integrity, respect, ethical behavior, perspective and honesty. However, it is unclear the extent to which this code applies to the company’s social and labor standards, particularly in seed production.
The company can devise a policy and initiate activities to ensure the conservation of genetic resources in Somalia, particularly because it is one of the few index companies active in the country.
The company is currently developing a policy statement for its capacity building activities. Following its experience in providing extension services to its seed growers, the company is encouraged to develop a strategy for such activities for its smallholder farmer clientele.
Darusalam Seed Company contributes to the development of the local seed sector in Somalia by collaborating with local farmer organizations and offering them contracts for seed production as well as training in good agricultural practices. It is also an active member of the national seed trade association.
The company is engaged in collaborative research with FAO and CIMMYT, testing the efficiency and climate adaptability of push-pull technology that has been developed by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE). The technology is based on insect pests being repelled from the food crop and simultaneously attracted to a trap crop. The company trials the approach for controlling stem borer in sorghum and maize in Somalia.
The company has seed production activities in Somalia in which it involves smallholder farmers. The company reports involving 500 registered smallholder farmers in different villages in Somalia, taking into consideration different climatic and growing conditions.
The company established a vocational agricultural high school in Darusalam village to encourage next-generation participation in agriculture. Graduates of the school, which trains 100 students per year, have gone on to become lecturers at universities in Mogadishu and work with national and international aid organizations.
Access to Seeds Index
Eastern and Southern Africa