This brief is the outcome of the first South Sudan Seed Hub event organised by the University of Juba, at their campus 8-12 September 2022, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in South Sudan (MAFS), the Directorate of Agricultural Research (DAR),
the Food and Nutrition Security Resilience Programme (FNS-REPRO) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Wageningen University &
Research (WUR), and Integrated Seed Sector Development Africa (ISSD-Africa).
The South Sudan Seed Hub is in essence a multi-stakeholder partnership that brings together seed actors and stakeholders dedicated to building a robust, inclusive, sustainable and resilient seed sector in South Sudan. The Hub provides a neutral and independent
platform for information sharing, capturing good practice, joint learning, and the development of policy briefs.
One of the objectives of the Seed Hub is to reflect on the current performance of the seed sector in South Sudan, identify the challenges faced, and explore and advise on opportunities to address those challenges.
The Key Call to action are
Developing a National Seed Policy and seed regulatory framework: The need for an approved and adopted National Seed Policy, seed laws, and regulations is emphasized. This includes the establishment of appropriate bodies for enforcement.
Strengthening seed sector coordination, digital inclusion, and partnerships: The document calls for the establishment of a structure for seed sector coordination at national, state, and county levels. It also emphasizes the need for increased public budget allocation towards seed sector coordination, digital inclusion, and partnerships.
Supporting the transition from seed relief to seed sector development: The document advocates for a shift from seed relief to seed sector development, with a focus on local, financially viable seed production and the development of market potential for locally produced seeds.
Strengthening farmer-based seed systems: The document calls for the establishment of seed production and marketing cooperatives in response to local demand, the creation of a system to register and regulate local seed producers, and the establishment of community seed banks.
Supporting the development of the private seed sector: The document emphasizes the need for innovative competition-based financial incentive mechanisms to support the professionalization of private seed companies.
Establishing a decentralized seed quality assurance system: The document calls for the development of national and zonal seed quality assurance capacity, and the approval and operationalization of a National Seed Policy supporting an effective decentralized seed quality assurance system.
Establishing a national gene bank linked to community seed banks: The document advocates for the establishment of a national gene bank, linked with community seed banks and regional and international gene banks.
Strengthening crop breeding and access to new varieties: The document calls for the finalization of a National Seed Policy and Seed Bill in line with Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) seed trade regulations, and the establishment of a National Agriculture Research (NARS) with centers in different agro-ecologies.
Establishing public-private partnerships in foundation seed production: The document emphasizes the need for the Directorate of Agricultural Research (DAR) to take up national Early Generation Seed (EGS) production and supply, and the development of different business models for the production of EGS.
Capacity building of key government departments and public institutes: The document calls for the review of agricultural research and seed system organization, the establishment of an autonomous seed authority, and the establishment of a semi-autonomous research organization.
These calls to action are aimed at transforming the seed sector in South Sudan into a robust, inclusive, sustainable, and resilient system.
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