Demand-Led Breeding Outline of phase 2 programme Viv Anthony Nairobi, 26-27 October 2018

Overview and clarification of DLB phase 2 Core goal Outputs and transition from Phase 1 -> 2 Content of Phase 2 Encouraging connectivity between breeders and seed organisations, seed regulatory bodies, food business chains Additional partner engagement Discussion topics break-out sessions

Phase 2 – Overall goal To accelerate the uptake and use of new improved crop varieties across Sub-Sahara Africa By…… Equipping breeders to design, breed and release varieties to meet needs of farmers, consumers and their value chains To connect breeders with seed and food chain organisations to scale varieties, catalyse enterprise and stimulate emergence of markets

DLB alumni (community of practice) DLB phase 1 - key outputs DLB educators team DLB alumni (community of practice) DLB best practices (text book) Implementation experience (case studies) People  Information  Know-how Knowledge

DLB alumni database Name Gender Crop Country Institution Public or private organisation Type of job: breeder, supporting scientist, regulatory or government official Email address

Core objectives Phase 1 2 No Change Deepening outcomes and impact Education and training on DLB Best practice implementation in breeding programmes to improve variety design and increase variety adoption Policy and advocacy for DLB approach

Transitioning Phase 1  Phase 2 Inputs Outputs Outcomes Impact/smallholders Information Products Behaviour changes People/environment Phase 1 Phase 2 DLB training and community building Identifying, accelerating and connecting promising varieties with private sector

Phase 2 – guiding principles DLB community of practitioners Extend partnerships for reach and expertise Responsiveness to gender drivers Connectivity with seed organisations, release committees, food business chains Inter-African country trade – regional regulatory harmonization Market research and foresight to drive design Performance and impact driven Creating sustainability and endurance beyond DLB2

Alumni/educator community Phase 2 programme Variety design Individual breeders Alumni/educator community Market research Foresight Identifying Promising varieties Portfolio of public varieties Setting standards Target product profiles Variety promotion Promotion pitch Technical datasheets Creating compelling investment cases Scaling and adoption Connecting with seed organisations Value chain actors

Implementation of DLB best practices Two specific crop and regional breeding programs selected for in depth investigation: Phaseolus beans in eastern and central Africa with CIAT, PABRA and their NARS partners – special focus on Uganda and bean cooking time Tomatoes in West Africa with a focus on the NARS and University programs in Ghana and with inputs from World Vegetable Centre/West Africa regional centre, Benin

DLB education and training DLB alumni community - full engagement and support To Identify and accelerate promising new varieties Connect with private sector seed organisations Questionnaire to understand the number and stage of varieties and advanced lines Advanced skills and knowledge on variety design, value definition and promotion Target product profiles, variety performance claims and technical datasheets Developing innovative methodology to create compelling cases for winning investment and donor support

Policy and advocacy Address policy and management issues that can accelerate or limit the speed of release and adoption of new varieties African R&D and policy leadership– promotion of DLB National and regional policy and advocacy activities: EAIR – Ethiopian NARS Ghana – NARs South Africa – Kwa-Zulu Natal regional approach

DLB partners Pan-African/Regional education and training programs conducted through BecA/ILRI Hub, Kenya ACCI, South Africa WACCI, University of Ghana PABRA/CIAT, Arusha Tanzania University of Nairobi , Kenya Makerere University, Uganda

DLB partners Tomato value chain implementation NARS – Ghana CRI- Kumasi, WACCI World Vegetable Centre West Africa regional program, Benin Bean value chain implementation CIAT/PABRA NARS -Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi

DLB Partners International research institutes/ programs BMGF-GREAT gender and plant breeding program at Cornell and Makerere universities CIMMYT maize program CRP-Roots and tubers program CGIAR Excellence in Breeding Program (EIB)

DLB partners Expert organizations creating business case, benefits cases and ex ante impact assessments IFPRI Syngenta Foundation Private seed companies

4 Key discussion topics Break-out groups How to achieve maximum engagement of DLB alumni and visibility of Africa’s next generation of varieties? How to identify varieties with high market potential and win support and investment for seed scaling and commercialisation? Making new variety performance claims and setting data standards Development and content of advanced training module on target product profiles and new variety promotion

Plenary discussion Clarification of core themes, activities in phase 2 and institutional partners Identification of other capacity building initiatives in this arena and potential partners

DLB alumni engagement Break-out group questions (1) What are the key benefits that could emerge from this outreach? What are the best ways to gain maximum engagement by alumni and a high return rate of the questionnaire? Are there areas of sensitivity that require consideration and management? How can this outreach strengthen connectivity between, DLB alumni, educators, private sector and each other? Should we focus only on DLB alumni or aim to include all active breeders and institutions …if so how? How can the process be optimized? Who else is working in this space and what partnerships should be considered What is the best way to communicate conclusions, implications and opportunities back to participants? Is the questionnaire fit for purpose? Are changes needed?  

Recognizing varieties with market value Break-out group questions (2) How can the value of a new variety or trait be determined – economic, social and environmental? How can commercial business cases for the private sector intersect/contribute vice versa with value assessments by social impact investors, national governments and international donors How can technology push be identified vs. demand or market pull in breeding and variety promotion? How can public plant breeders, their value chains and African seed organisations get more insights from each other about the critical drivers for new product design? How well understood is DLB and using technical product profiles to select new varieties with market value by public and private breeding organisations? How to win support for closer links between public and private sector organisations and change by breeders, managers, seed orgs, regulatory officials, donors and other stakeholders  

Variety performance claims and setting standards Break-out groups questions (3) How do users know about the performance of varieties? What information can be trusted? What standards are used on variety performance? What types of datasheets are available, what do they contain and who creates them e.g. breeders, seed organisations, national variety release catalogues? What are the full range of considerations linked to making performance claims, scaling decisions claims and seed sales? How important is it to have recognised professional standards for technical datasheets produced by DLB breeders to promote their varieties? What are the issues and constraints breeders face creating comprehensive datasheets for their varieties? How do breeders learn how to communicate the properties of their varieties, set standards and create promotion materials e.g. datasheets?  

Advanced DLB training module Break-out group questions (4) How innovative is this training concept and is anyone else operating in this space? What are the skills needed and what should the training content cover and not include? (e.g. datasheets, making a pitch for investment, communication skills, advocacy etc) What should be the priority 6 crops? What are the critical components of excellent variety promotion datasheets and materials? How can the standards for datasheets be set? What and who are the experts from public and private organisations that are needed to create the content? How can the responses from the alumni questionnaire be used to help deepen the connections between public and private?  

Personal reflection exercise Identify areas you wish to participate in Creation of the advanced DLB module on variety performance promotion and product profiling Reviewing the outputs of the questionnaire and the future generation of promising new varieties Advocacy and outreach on implementing DLB within public or private breeding organisations Establishing the value of promising varieties and making investment cases Promotion of improved varieties Crafting the next questionnaires on continuing professional development and curriculum for breeders post qualification