African situation

Fast growing population
African populations are growing fast and good natural resources are getting scarcer.
To feed these growing populations, higher production per area is essential to avoid more expansion into vulnerable ecosystems.

Higher yields necessary
Suitable plant varieties are necessary for development of the horticultural and agricultural sector. Further, the higher productivity will increase rural income.

Example: tropical Asia successful
Rural development in tropical Asia initiated by plant breeding has proven to be very successful, both for the staple and vegetable crops.

Few attempts for Variety development for Africa
However, few attempts have been made for Africa. The current African vegetable seed market is small, seed prices are low and the lack of reliable and adapted quality seeds is a returning problem for the African farmer. This is acknowledged by several agencies*.

World Development Report: call for investments in agriculture
The World Development Report 2008** calls for a greater investment in agriculture in developing countries.
One of the goals of the World Bank is to halve extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. In order to reach this goal, agriculture must be placed at the center of the development agenda. At the moment, a mere 4 percent of official development assistance goes to agriculture, while 75 percent of the world's poor live in rural areas in developing countries.

* See for instance: "Opportunities and constraints for future development of sustainable vegetable seed businesses in Eastern and Southern Africa", a scooping study commissioned by the Rockefeller Foundation, the UK Department for International development Crop Protection Programme, and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, by J.M. Lenne, D.A.C. Pink, J. Njuki, C. Wanyonyi & N.J. Spence. **See for instance: The World Development Report 2008, from the World Bank website. 2007 "The Role of Agriculture in Achieving MDG1 - a review of the leading reports", authors: Wim Andriesse, Ken Giller, Janice Jiggins, Huub Löffler, Peter Oosterveer, Jimk Woodhill. (pdf, 1,07 KB) Further, a 'Green Alliance for Africa' has been established to address this problem.