An assessment of smallholder farmers’ access to seeds says greater engagement from global seed companies would help boost yields and food security.
The Access to Seeds Index said the large multinational companies’ quality and range of seeds, if available and affordable, could help boost yields.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, smallholders are responsible for the majority of the region’s food production. However, only 2.5% of seeds used by the farmers come from global seed firms.
The index, published at the end of February, assessed the main field crop and vegetable seed companies’ efforts to make their products available to smallholder farmers in the most food insecure regions of the world: South and South-East Asia, Latin America, Eastern Africa and Western Africa.
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