The Seed Systems Assessment Tool (SeedSAT) aims to develop a strong understanding of where a national seed system stands relative to regional and international best practices and, inform the development of investment plans with partners to advance the national seed system in a sustainable manner. The tool presents an analytical framework for seed system performance; divided into eight essential and interrelated thematic areas these include: i) breeding, variety release, and maintenance; ii) early generation seed; iii) quality commercial seed production; iv) farmer awareness and participation; v) seed marketing and distribution; vi) national quality assurance; vii) policy, legal and regulatory environment, viii) national planning and coordination.

The purpose is to diagnose key areas of underperformance in the seed sector and where improvement is needed to build a stronger and more farmer-oriented seed system. The tool enables users to design strategies and interventions that improve performance and monitor progress along identified areas of weakness and bottlenecks. As such, this diagnostic tool can be used to complement a number of existing performance indices that look at the impact of the seed sector’s performance.