Developing the seed sector in Chad

Participants from the training “I am a quality seed producer”, Bourara Adam — Kouloudia (Lake Chad province)

A new project aims to bring quality seeds and a promising future for the young people of Chad.

Named Al Bouzhour, the project was launched in January 2020 with the primary objective of developing a seed system in two regions of Lake Chad and Hadjer Lamis provinces through the training of 500 youth and women.

Christophe Masson, international manager in the Chamber of Agriculture of Saône-et-Loire in France which started this initiative with the Trade, Agriculture and Industry Chamber of Chad, explains: “The word ‘Al Bouzhour’ in local Arabic language means a seed that has germinated and sprouted from the ground.”

The country recognizes the role of improved seeds in sustainable agriculture:

“For our agriculture to be able to meet its objectives, especially food security, the use of seeds of improved crop varieties is critical,” said Madjidian Padja Ruth, Minister of Production, Irrigation and Agricultural Equipment of Chad during the launching ceremony.

Chad is a landlocked country in north-central Africa whose northern half is desert, and where agriculture employs 80% of the population. The population is very young — more than half of citizens are under 15 and just 4 per cent are aged 60 or older. (Source: IFAD)

The ambitious plan of action of the Ministry of Agriculture for the seed sector in Chad is to increase the local production of quality seed from 3 to 20% in 5 years.

Exactly how does the project plan on achieving this?

“During the next 32 months, young people and women will be trained to produce seed provided by the national institute of agriculture. Their entrepreneurship skills will also be developed through dedicated modules to help them start seed production businesses to be able to provide local farmers with quality seed of improved varieties,” said Masson.

The 5 pillars of the project are:

• A need for the private sector to be part of the future of the country and to become more professional

The word ‘Al Bouzhour’ means a seed that has germinated.

• To make good use of the numerous young human resources in Chad
• Bottom-up approach to involve the local stakeholders
• Going forward! Even with limited resources
• Participating in meeting the SDGs

This is a first step in a country where almost everything needs to be built for the seed sector. ISF will continue to follow the development of the project and propose some assistance in the development of regulations to help this newly organized seed sector to flourish.

The project benefits from funding from the European Commission. #