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The African seed market has grown appreciably since our last
Crop Science report (published in 2014), reaching close to US$1.9
billion in 2019. African food imports are seen rising from $35
billion in 2020 to an estimated $100 billion by 2030. This figure
amply demonstrates the necessity for increased domestic crop
productivity.
Read more by access your free sample pages from our Commercial
Seed Markets in Africa report.
Although great strides have been made modernizing the relevant
regulations and policies in the African seed environment, there are
many issues that remain. The promotion of an enabling regulatory
environment for the release and adoption of improved varieties will
further stimulate private sector interest and investment.
The African commercial seed market was dominated by maize (42%),
vegetables (20%) and cereals (14%) which combine for a
three-quarter share of the continental market.
Smallholder, subsistence farmers constitute over 70% of the
population and account for over 75% of agricultural output in
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) adoption of improved crop varieties is
amongst the lowest in the world (estimated to be 20% by the civil
society organisation AGRA), yet the formal seed sector has grown
significantly following deregulation of the seed industry
regionally in the early 1990s and the emerging private seed sector
provides a unique and timely opportunity to promote the development
and dissemination of improved, crop varieties through certified,
scalable seed systems that can potentially impact millions of
livelihoods throughout Africa and beyond.
This report has attempted to highlight some of the serious
concerns over the suitability of the seed varieties presently
available in the formal seed sector, the quantity and quality of
seed delivered, seed production costs and prices and the timeliness
of supply. More importantly, rigid government policies and
regulations, poor organizational linkages and inadequate
infrastructure appear to contribute to the problems of the formal
system throughout the African continent. Also, despite the growth
of the seed industry in SSA since the 1990s, rates of variety
turnover remain slow, and investment into agricultural research and
development extremely low.
In order to encourage the private sector to invest in crop
improvement, to reduce product life cycles, and to ensure certified
seed reach smallholder farmers, these issues need to be addressed
and resolved. In general, Africa presents an attractive seed market
with many countries sharing common agro-ecologies, a factor which
eases regional grading of competitive varieties. The reality,
however, is that multiple individual nation states with distinct
laws, regulations and trade agreements, render the continent a
fractured and challenging seed market.
Our forecast is the commercial seed market in Africa is expected
to resume its robust growth following a down year in 2020, reaching
$2.95 billion in 2025.
Overview
In the past two decades there has been dramatic transformation
in different countries and various localities. There is a
noticeable upward shift in expenditure on agriculture by national
governments in African countries.
These governments have reaffirmed their commitment to
prioritizing agriculture in their development agendas and are
investing an increased proportion of their budgets in the sector
from a growing national revenue base. There is evidence of faster
growth in agricultural productivity, improved nutrition, and
greater job expansion even in the non-farm segments of their
economies.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the fastest growing population in the
world and the most rapid rate of urbanization. Each year these
demographic facts complicate Africa's ability to achieve food
self-sufficiency, not to mention a food export capacity. Most
African countries have serious land tenure issues that have stymied
the development of agricultural projects. Many African countries
must improve their agricultural policies, eliminate trade barriers
among African countries, reduce corruption, and/or end conflict
before they can reasonably expect to increase food production. Due
to the absence of adequate water sources, irrigation is not an
option in many areas; it is also expensive and comes with
environmental downsides.
Agriculture is the largest generator of jobs and guarantor of
food security on the African sub-continent. The sector is currently
at a crossroads: persistent food shortages are compounded by
threats from climate variability. 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.
Boosting the agriculture sector's productivity, profitability
and sustainability is essential for fighting hunger and poverty,
tackling malnutrition, and ensuring food security. It is well known
that seeds are the most important input in crop production; they
are the basic unit of plant propagation, and as such, are a crucial
component of agriculture. Quality seeds are a prerequisite to
successful agriculture and constitute a major pathway for the
success of regional food security goals, with the potential to
increase overall productivity by nearly 40%. Seed companies are
well positioned to develop and provide access to quality seeds in
Africa.
The seed sector in sub-Saharan Africa is dominated by informal
and formal supply systems. The informal refers to systems where
farmers obtain, develop, produce, maintain and distribute seeds
from one growing season to the next, whether retained from previous
harvests or acquired from farmers' social networks
(farmer-to-farmer gifts, exchanges and trade). Most smallholder
farmers heavily rely on this system of seed supply.
The informal seed system provides a rich diversity of seed,
including varieties that are relevant to farmers and adapted to
local weather conditions. It offers dynamic channels of seed
distribution that can reach the most remote farming communities,
and accounts for approximately 80-90% of seeds planted in Western
and Central Africa. Quality standards in this system are not
controlled by national or regional policies and regulations but are
guided by the local knowledge and experience of farming
communities.
The formal sector is regulated by national seed committees and
quality standards controlled by national seed certification
agencies. In the region, the formal seed sector comprises many
institutions including government, civil society organizations,
research agencies, the private sector as well as development
partners (NGOs and CBOs). Institutions involved in seed breeding,
production, supply and marketing are registered and regulated by
national/regional policies and acts.
Executive Summary and Methodology
As a result of the increasing global interest in agriculture, in
a context of rising food prices and concerns about food security
and climate change adaptation, seed sector development in Africa
has regained the attention of governments, donor communities, civil
society, and other stakeholders. At the local level, farmers and
entrepreneurs seek opportunities in the seed market. This report
describes and quantify the commercial seed market in Africa.
This report looks at the policy backdrop of a market that is
transforming from public sector hegemony to one in which the
private sector is becoming more involved. National seed systems
across Africa are at different stages of development and seed
sectors are still emerging, characterized by under-funded
government seed agencies, poorly implemented seed regulations, and
a relatively weak private sector. Currently, in African countries,
with the exception of Zambia, the combined market share of
African-owned companies exceeds that of Multi-National Companies
(MNCs).
Despite some challenges, in the last decade many African
countries have made significant progress towards establishing a
strong and vibrant private seed sector serving smallholder and
commercial farmers. However, the story of formal seed sector
development in Africa is nuanced, with significant variation by
country, crop, and year.
Aside from looking at enabling environments in twenty-two key
African countries, the report seeks to quantify the commercial seed
market in monetary terms. The criterion used to determine whether
in-depth review was warranted was a commercial seed market greater
than $10 million.
Coverage of these 22 African countries was determined by the
size of their commercial seed markets highlighting those with sales
in excess of $10 million. Likewise, the selection of individual or
crop composites (pulse, forage, other cereals, for example,
targeted those with turnovers in excess of $10 million). Focus was
placed on the crop markets in the 22 countries investigated,
although there were some rare exceptions taken and duly noted.
This report will inform and update all those interested in the
technologies and players involved in providing digital and
precision products and services to farmers, including robotics. The
focus is on crop protection. Precision agriculture tackles the
variability inherent in farming systems to improve productivity and
profitability, and to reduce risks and environmental impact.
Digital farming extends into platforms for farm and agri-food chain
management. The report describes technologies and markets;
profiles, innovations, developments and other company news; all
with a specific focus on the control of crop weeds, pests and
diseases.
Included in the report are descriptions of the established and
latest precision technologies used in the collection of data, its
use in diagnostics and decision support systems and its application
to operations, including the fast-developing areas of drone
spraying and ground robots. Those more generally applicable and
those specific to disease, insect and weed control sectors are
covered. The activities of the major crop protection companies are
reported; and profiles of leading specialist precision agriculture
companies and other organisations are provided.
Chapters cover: essential background and
enabling technologies; digital farming activities of the crop
protection majors and specialist companies in farm machinery,
satellite data and imagery, data and artificial intelligence;
drones including spraying by drone and company profiles; ground
robots, including company profiles; weed control research and
innovation; disease control research and innovation; insect control
research and innovation; and a glossary of terms.
About the author
Jake Cooley is a consultant and author on crop protection
markets and soft commodities. He has vast industry experience and
has authored several specialist reports for IHS Markit,
particularly on Africa and Latin America.