Project Briefs

Quality Declared Seed (QDS) Class: Bridging the gap in quality seed availability and access for non-hybrid crops in Uganda

Introduction

According to the 2018 National Seed Policy, only 15% of seed and planting material used by farmers in Uganda comes from the formal seed supply system. However, most of these commercial seed companies focus on high-value hybrid crop varieties with very high replacement rates as their business sustainability strategy due to the high annual profit margins. As a result, seed for other food security crops, such as legumes, oil seed, small cereals and vegetatively propagated crops, are from the informal seed system. These are mostly open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) and self-pollinated crops with low seed multiplication rates and low seed replacement rates, resulting in low profit margins and unpredictable seasonal demand. The seed in the informal system is largely from farmer-saved seed, which contributes to declining crop productivity.

This brief shares key highlights of how the inadequate availability of quality seeds for food security crops in Uganda was/is addressed.