The Private Seed Sector Development (PSSD) project (2018-2026), funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Burundi, is a market systems project that aims to increase the production and incomes of 178,000 farmer households in Burundi. The project works with private and public sector partners to promote the development of a private sector-led seed industry that is able to provide farmers with sustainable access to high-quality seed and agricultural advisory services.
PSSD aims to increase the production and incomes of 178,000 farmer households in Burundi.
Incentivizing Seed Sales Innovation
The project incentivizes and supports Burundian and international seed companies to pilot innovations related to seed production and sales. The project focuses on the development of sales strategies that are tailored to farmer household requirements, including:
- The sale of seeds in micro-packs.
- Development of last-mile distribution capabilities such as rural points of sales and mobile sales agents.
- Micro-demonstration plots.
- Consumer education-focused communication strategies tailored to farmers.
- Development of specialized promotional materials tailored to farmers.
Increasing Production Efficiencies
PSSD supports initiatives to improve the business-enabling environment to foster the development of a private sector-led seed industry in Burundi. Work includes:
- Strengthening of the Burundian national seed producer association.
- Facilitation of dialogue between public and private sector stakeholders on seed sector-relevant regulations in order to promote policy and regulatory coherency.
- Promotion of seed distribution strategies that help, rather than hinder, the development of a private sector-led seed industry in Burundi.
- Increasing the efficiency and sustainability of seed certification and packaging processes.
- Improving knowledge transfer between research institutions and the private sector to ensure that technologies are transferred from lab to farm.
Contribution to the SDGs
In 2015, the Kingdom of the Netherlands (KoN), together with the other 192 United Nations (UN) member states, committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Agenda outlines 17 interlinked Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are intended to make the world a better place by 2030.
The PSSD project contributes to the KoN commitments in relation to SDG 2:
End hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
The project aims in particular to contribute to the KoN’s commitment to Objective 2.3:
By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment.
Critical Information Related to the Burundian Seed Sector
Results
2023
- Trained a total of 122,577 smallholder farmers in good agricultural practices through 17,339 community-led learning and innovation plots.
- Modified the regulatory environment for seeds in Burundi through a public and private partnership strategy.
- Facilitated the registration of 107 new crop varieties: 33 varieties of fortified organic bean, 19 of hybrid maize, 11 of composite maize, 13 of potato, nine of rice, six of banana, 11 of sorghum, and five of cassava.
- Supported 259 private seed entrepreneurs to produce and sell 7,834.6 mt of certified seeds to 332,220 farming households.
2022
- 49,450 smallholder farmers purchased seed from PSSD partners.
- 255,457 producers, or about 15% of the farm households in Burundi, have purchased seed from PSSD partners since project inception.
- About 1,316.2 mt of seed was sold in 2022, for a total of 5,013.17 mt thus far.
- PSSD provided training on good agricultural practices to 8,245 smallholder farmers, 46.5% of whom were women, for a total of 130,822 smallholder farmers since the beginning of the project.
- 283 demonstration fields were installed, for a total of 17,622 during the life of the project.
- 98,104 (38%) of all clients have been women, representing:
- 37.6% of open-pollinated maize seed clients
- 37.1% of all hybrid maize seed clients
- 41.6% of all bean seed clients
- 36.8% of all potato seed clients
- 25% of all vegetable seed clients.
2021
- 97,394 smallholder farmers purchased seed from PSSD partners, a ninefold increase from 2019.
- About 1,958 mt of seed was sold in 2021, an increase of 37.3% compared to 2020, for a total of 3,742 mt thus far.
- Provided training on good agricultural practices to 64,180 smallholder farmers, 45% of whom were women.
- Installed more than 5,700 demonstration fields.
2020
- Made significant strides toward the establishment of a sustainable seed industry in Burundi.
- Supported 58 Burundian seed producers and companies to establish 6,261 micro-demonstration plots and train 68,140 farmers (44% women).
- Private sector partners sold a cumulative 1,343 mt of certified seed at commercial rates directly to 87,376 Burundian farmers (36,094 women).
Media
PSSD First Year Results (French)
PSSD First Year Results (English Subtitles)
The PSSD Project: Promoting High-Quality Seeds for Good Harvests (English)
The PSSD Project: Promoting High-Quality Seeds for Good Harvests (French)
International Day of Rural Women 2024: High-Quality Seeds for a Good Harvest
Project Publications
Success Stories
Project Reports
