TASAI participates at AFSTA Seed Congress 2024

TASAI is an Associate member of the Africa Seed Trade Association (AFSTA) and participated in the Congress held in Pride Inn hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, from 4^th to 6^th March 2024. The Congress was attended by 350 participants from 38 countries and was officially opened by the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development, Hon. Mithika Linturi and was also attended by the Principal Secretary, Dr. Paul Rono. 

TASAI co-leads the work on Seed Statistics under the AFSTA Special Interest Groups (SIGs). During the SIG session, TASAI delivered a presentation on seed statistics in Africa centering around the work on the Seed Sector Performance Index (SSPI) Africa Report for 2023. The presentation provided a brief background, and outlined the scope of the SSPI, before highlighting some of the findings for selected SSPI indicators including varietal choice; seed utilization; seed production; seed policy and regulatory environment; and status of national seed associations. National seed associations from 14 African countries were in attendance, from Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, as well as seed associations from outside Africa, including the French Interprofessional Organization for Seeds and Plants (SEMEA), the American Seed Trade Association, and Euroseeds.

The AFSTA Congress is an ideal opportunity for networking within the seed industry. To that end, the TASAI representative had fruitful discussions with representatives from multiple TASAI partner organizations including the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) Clearing House, Africa Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), and the Media for Environment, Science, Health, and Agriculture (MESHA). In addition, TASAI held discussions with two European vegetable seed companies that are interested in extending their footprint across Africa. These companies are keen to access good quality data and information on the seed sectors across African countries, as this can inform their investment decisions.

One of the highlights of the Congress was the announcement that Dr. Yacouba Diallo would take over as Secretary General of AFSTA. He takes over from Justin Rakotoarisanoa who has served AFSTA from its inception in 2000. TASAI has had a very good working relationship with AFSTA, while Justin was at the helm, and is looking forward to working with Dr. Diallo. Yacuoba is a very familiar face in seed sector development in Africa and has interacted with TASAI severally during his time as the Seed Expert at CORAF. TASAI wishes him well in his new position.