Datasets that provide an updated summary of Africa’s seed sector are not readily available; CESSA is well positioned to provide a biannual update in partnership with other African organizations to curate and host data resources on CESSA.  

African Union Commission engaged AGRA to work with TASAI to develop a Seed Sector Performance Index (SSPI) https://www.tasai.org/en/2024/02/13/sspi-new-year-update/  and metrics for CAADP to measure the health of the seed system across Africa every two years, starting in 2023. The SSPI provides input into the 4th Biennial Review report of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). The index uses 17 indicators to measure the health of national seed sectors in Africa, a useful resource to fill in existing data gaps. The report contains detailed descriptions of the ufindings by indicator, as well as individual profiles of each participating country, and will be used as a mutual accountability framework by African Union member states. It aims towards having a Single Score Measurement of Formal Seed Sector in African Countries, that provides “Bird’s Eye View” of the ability of seed systems to meet farmers’ needs across Africa. 

AGRA employed the Seed Systems Assessment Tool (SEEDSAT) https://cessa.agra.org/analysis/   approach has assessed the health status of 11 focus countries to identify bottlenecks and areas for catalytic interventions to spur changes in the seed systems of these countries.  The assessment took place in 2022-2023. The objective of SeedSAT is to understand ongoing activities, identify need areas, address bottlenecks and design improvements for ongoing investments and their implementation.  SeedSAT has facilitated the identification of unique opportunities for catalytic interventions on a need basis.  The seed system encompasses various institutions addressing issues along the 8 thematic areas, and outlines specific recommendations for each country across the 8 thematic areas assessed

The TASAI Dashboard, launched in 2022 is a significant data resource , addressing data availability on the seed sector for Africa, which is still limited. FAO-STAT does not capture seed production, demand, or trade as it does for fertilizers and pesticides. In part, data is unavailable due to the poor visibility most countries have on seed production. ASTI presents scorecards for select seed companies that highlight a company’s strengths and weaknesses, presence and portfolio, leading practices, and notable findings in Eastern, Southern, and Western Africa. It does not cover all seed sector actors in each country.  The AUC-Seed sector Plan 2020-2030 has attempted to develop a database on various seed system aspects from the data available from TASAI and other initiatives in Africa.

The IHS Markit – Africa Seed Profiles 2021 emphasizes vegetable seeds. Respective CGIAR Centers report on seed production estimates for their mandate crops but these have not been updated and do not report estimated seed production by variety and country.

The following sections present highlights from these initiatives, from which CESSA can conduct analysis to indicate gaps in information and develop a process of continuously assembling data on the African seed sector for use by different stakeholders.