Seed policies and laws: Do they sufficiently guide emergency assistance in Africa? (January 2026) скачать в хорошем качестве

Seed policies and laws: Do they sufficiently guide emergency assistance in Africa? (January 2026)

Emergency seed aid is key for helping farmers recover after a disaster. Its use has increased enormously over the last decade, with large investments across a growing number of countries. If done well, such aid serves as a powerful assistance tool to help farmers sow and harvest themselves. If done poorly, seed aid can increase vulnerability, waste farmers’ land and labor, and stifle development of sustainable farmer-managed seed systems and commercial seed businesses. Mercy Corps and SeedSystem, through the ISSD Africa programme, have released a new paper: Seed Policy and Law: an Underexplored Factor in Emergency Assistance in Africa. The paper reviews key policies and laws of six African countries, along with relevant global and regional agreements, to determine the extent of official guidance. The base questions guiding the paper are: Do such policies exist at all; If so, do they block effective seed aid response —or do they enable positive, effective humanitarian action? The webinar discussions explored this crucial issue— centering on the possible roles of governments to take stronger leads in shaping critical emergency assistance. While the core of the paper includes a rigorous legal analysis of what is- or isn’t- detailed in existing policy and legislation, the work ultimately aims to improve practice. Concrete recommendations are put forward to spur better governance of emergency seed assistance—for multiple stakeholders.