BASICS-II project sets the stage for public–private stakeholders to promote the sustainable cassava seed delivery system in Tanzania
Dodoma, Tanzania, 17 February 2022 – The National Cassava Business Summit is set to trigger action towards developing a cassava seed system. Cassava is one of Tanzania’s priority crops identified in its Agricultural Sector Development Program (ASDP II), so it needs a comprehensive plan for commercialization.
CGIAR’s International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), under the
Building Economically Sustainable Seed Systems for Cassava, Phase II (BASICS-II) project, is convening a day-long meeting dedicated to the cassava value chain and commitments from government, public and private sectors, NGOs, institutions, entrepreneurs, farmers, and other key stakeholders.
The National Cassava Business Summit builds on efforts to transition cassava from a staple crop to a commercial crop generating sustainable livelihoods for farmers. To realize the impact of large-scale commercial intervention on the cassava value chain,
market-led, inclusive agricultural transformation in Tanzania is inevitable through the prioritization of policies that drive inclusive agricultural transformation.
The National Cassava Business Summit aims to catalyze Public-Private Partnership sector-led investment in the cassava seed value chain to:
- Identify and engage in policy reform to motivate the cassava seed sector to raise productivity and drive industrial growth projections.
- Promote impactful and economically sustainable seed models as articulated in the National Cassava Development Strategy launched in 2021.
- Unveil opportunities in the cassava seed sector for private and public capital investments
CGIAR scientist,
Dr Regina Kapinga, Head of Advocacy and Resource Mobilization at IITA, says that the forum will complement efforts of the past six years in building an economically sustainable integrated cassava seed system in Tanzania. Professor Lateef Sanni, Project Manager, BASICS-II, IITA/CGIAR, urges participants to learn more about strategies in scaling and catalyzing the adoption of a seed system model of improved cassava varieties for income generation, job creation, and sustainable livelihoods for farmers and other actors.
About the project
In Tanzania,
BASICS-II builds on
BEST Cassava (Building Economically Sustainable Cassava Seed Systems in Tanzania), a recently concluded project, which worked with 641 registered Cassava Seed Entrepreneurs (CSEs) from 11 regions. About 1068 hectares under cassava seed production were certified and accessed for seeds by farmers. The project officially released five improved varieties. Four initially released varieties for the Coastal lowland were extended countrywide and CSEs produced their seed through the BEST-Cassava model. The BEST Cassava project was led by Economic Development Associates (MEDA) and implemented in full collaboration with IITA, the Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute (TOSCI), and Tanzania Agriculture Research Institute (TARI).
BASICS-II aims to provide farmers with access to affordable, quality-assured seed of cassava varieties in demand by local food and processor markets by strengthening a commercially viable seed value chain operating across breeder, basic, and commercial/certified seed levels. This value chain will enable more efficient dissemination and adoption of superior varieties to improve productivity, increase the incomes of cassava growers and seed entrepreneurs, improve gender equity, and contribute to inclusive agricultural transformation in Tanzania and Nigeria.
The project has six components: Ensuring the integration of breeding and seed system activities, development of early generation seed entreprises, development of Commercial Seed Entrepreneurs, quality control and disease management, development of the processor-associated seed system model, and catalyzing scaling and replication through partners.
BASICS-II, now in its second year, is a five-year project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with a focus on two countries: Tanzania and Nigeria. In Tanzania, the project will be implemented in four major cassava-producing zones: Lake, Eastern, Western, and Southern. IITA will implement BASICS-II in collaboration with MEDA, TARI, and TOSCI.
About IITA, www.iita.org
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a not-for-profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to meet Africa’s most pressing challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. Working with various partners across sub-Saharan Africa, we improve livelihoods, enhance food and nutrition security, increase employment, and preserve natural resource integrity. IITA is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future.
