The Access to Seeds Foundation’s report on ‘Identifying Leading Seed Companies in Western and Central Africa: Landscaping study for the Regional Access to Seeds Index for Western & Central Africa’ (Diallo, 2018), was quoted in the National Agricultural Seed Council Bill Factbook by the Nigeriann Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group.
Food security is heavily dependent on the seed security of the farming community and Seed sectordevelopment is essential to foster agriculturalgrowth. All these obvious benefits are attainable through a well-developed seed sector (AU 2015). Although Agriculture is the economic and socialmainstay of over 500 million smallholder farmers worldwide, on the African sub-continent, the sector is currently at a crossroads because of the persistent food shortages which are compounded by threats from climate variability (Diallo 2018). Sub-Saharan Africa is dominated by rain-fed agriculture, while 75% of its surface area is dry land or desert. This makes the region highly vulnerable to droughts and floods, threatening its agricultural sector and food security. Many African countries experience severe water scarcity, which is likely to increase in the coming years. Therefore boosting the agriculture sector’s productivity, profitability and sustainability is essential for fighting hunger and poverty, tackling malnutrition, and ensuring food security (FAO 2010)
