Review of information available on seed security and seed aid interventions in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mali and Sudan

This report provides an overview of the dominant approaches to seed relief and a review of available literature on the topic. It gives background information on the most common approaches to seed interventions both in normal times and in times of stress. <br /><br />The report presents some of the most widely used approaches to seed relief interventions, such as Direct Seed Distributions (DSD), Seed Vouchers and Fairs (SV&F) and Input Trade Fairs (ITF) and provides an overview of the current seed situation in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mali and Sudan. Additionally, the author provides examples of what can be implemented within existing programs under the Drylands Coordination Group (DCG) umbrella in order to monitor seed status among participating farmers.<br /><br />Recommendations on how to include perspectives on seed security in activities implemented within the DCG member countries, such as agricultural development, sustainable watershed management, climate change adaptation, poverty eradication, and humanitarian response, include:<br /><br />By country:<br /> use existing community groups for identifying seed problems/opportunities:&nbsp; components - identifying key varieties for consumption/sale; ranking of important traits; seed management practices on farm (production) by crop and by variety; seed management in storage by crop and variety;community seed production; community seed storage in areas with seed relief activities:&nbsp; components - for how many years have the areas received seed relief; which varieties have farmers been given; are they still used by farmers; need for other seed types; needs for other inputs Within the DCG network:<br /> use the DCG network for exchange of experiences with seed relief the DCG network provides a great platform for providing guidance on seed security assessments, the design and implementation and evaluation of seed relief between countries and members provide information relevant to policy-makers and donors in Norway and internationally, so as to promote critical reflection and the incorporation of best practices in disaster response and rehabilitation work based on experiences with seed relief in DCG member countries