Agriculture plays a crucial role in the socioeconomic development of many countries. The sector plays a particularly major role in the Rwandan economy, employing approximately 67% of the population and contributing about 24% of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Smallholder farmers dominate this sector.

In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the need to transform the agriculture sector to enhance its productivity, competitiveness, and resilience in the face of various challenges, including climate change, population growth, and food insecurity.

Rwanda's agriculture sector has undergone significant transformation in recent years, thanks, in part, to government policies and initiatives aimed at improving productivity and promoting food security. For example, Rwanda has made significant investments in and encouraged other stakeholders to invest in agricultural research, extension services, and improved seed production, enabling farmers to adopt new technologies and practices that can increase their yields and incomes.

Although agriculture has evolved remarkably since its inception thousands of years ago, farmers' needs have not changed much: they pursue today the goals they pursued all those years ago – good harvests to make a living and feed themselves and others. And, where traditionally the focus was on household sustenance and subsistence farming, today, smallholder farms increasingly combine this farming objective with producing for the market to increase incomes and improve livelihoods.

Quality planting seed is a prerequisite for healthy crops and an important factor for increasing yields. As the climate becomes more challenging for farmers, the need for quality seed has become more urgent.

Estimates suggest that most of the seed on which smallholder farmers across Africa depend are saved from harvests or obtained through informal distribution channels, such as exchanges between farmers, community sharing systems, and local markets. But this alone is not enough.

Quality seed for climate change adaptation

For Rwanda, with government support through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB), we have graduated to a modern seed system, as agriculture stakeholders, particularly farmers, appreciate the importance of improved seeds. In recent times, collaborations between seed companies and agricultural organizations, with the support of the Rwanda Agriculture Board, have accelerated this transition.

Besides yields, quality seed provides an effective way of adapting to climate change on the farm. Achieving this aim means having a seed system that responds to farmer needs by breeding ecologically-adapted seed varieties suited to environmental conditions.

Rwanda produces a number of improved seeds locally, distributed through private agro-dealers under the supervision of the Agro Processing Trust Corporation (APTC). There is ongoing research to produce, trial, and introduce more seed varieties every year, which requires time and research to create seed types that can adapt to changing environmental conditions.

Timely collaboration

The Rwandan government has opened up investment space in seed production, strengthening national seed production capacities over the last decade, and considerably improving smallholder access to quality seed. And through peer collaborations, such as the partnership between One Acre Fund and RICA University in establishing a Seed Centre of Excellence, various stakeholders have initiated timely collaborations to streamline national seed production.

Guaranteeing farmers’ access to quality seed can only be achieved through a robust seed supply system that can multiply and distribute quality seeds. The Seed Centre aims to train over 60 certified seed professionals over five years. These seed experts will provide strategic and technical support for developing ecologically-adapted seed and support ongoing work to strengthen our food system.

Selecting and breeding new seed varieties is a long, complex process; on average, developing a new one takes seven years to produce and adapt. During that time, researchers must crossbreed seeds with distinct advantages, identify good combinations suitable for production needs, and choose high-yielding, stable new strains. The Seed Center collaboration means more professionals innovating biological technologies, conducting research and development, and sharing knowledge to develop quality seed.

Rwanda has made significant strides in developing a responsive food system by increasing farmer access to diverse, good-quality, ecologically-adapted seeds. By raising productivity, we are simultaneously addressing food security needs and working to achieve sustainable development goals. To further bolster these efforts, we must encourage more collaboration and a shared understanding of the urgency of developing and operationalizing harmonized seed policies and practices to increase the processing and flow of quality seed.

The author works at One Acre Fund as Government Relations Lead and Legal Counsel