Author Contributing to Linking small –farmers to local and regional markets in vegetable marketing and trade Presenter Ronia Tanyongana Contributors Chris Ojiewo Takemore Chagomoka Victor Afari –Sefa For CTA – East Africa Briefing Entebbe November 2010 \

About AVRDC AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center is an international non-profit research and development institution committed to alleviating poverty and malnutrition in the developing world through the increased production and consumption of nutritious and health-promoting vegetables.

“Alleviate poverty and malnutrition in the developing world through increased production and consumption of nutritious, health-promoting vegetables” Our mission

Regional and project offices Uzbekistan Korea Taiwan Thailand Indonesia Solomon Islands India Dubai Madagascar Tanzania Mali Niger Cameroon South Africa Our Locations

Research and Development: Four global themes Germplasm conservation, evaluation and gene discovery Genetic enhancement, varietal development, selection of indigenous lines, seed production Safe and sustainable vegetable production systems Postharvest management and market opportunities; nutritional security, diet diversification and human health Germplasm Breeding Consumption Production

Strategy: Vegetable Value Chain Seed Breeding Seed testing Seed production Vegetable production Post harvest Markets Consumption & nutrition Breeding, testing and release Basic/foundation seed production Seed Commercialization, improving production & consumption systems RBUs & Regulator Private sector & Regulator Public & Private sector & Civic Society

Our Focus Vegetables Based/Integrated Approaches for Improved Food and Nutrition Security in Africa EMPHASIS

Why Vegetables? Vegetables are companions to all staple foods during consumption. Vegetables are key sources of nutrients and health-promoting phytocompounds Vegetables are excellent sources of vitamins, iron, protein, minerals and fibre, as well as micronutrients (Bouis and Hunt, 1999 ): 8/15

The Double burden in Africa Perennial Problem Emerging problem

Why Vegetables? Vegetables are high value crops and way for farmers to increase incomes and escape poverty The vegetable industry is one of the most integrated which generates more cash income per area unit than other food crops of the agricultural sector (Weinberger and Lumpkin 2007). Vegetables are of special importance to resource-poor women as they are high-value crops which can be grown on small household plots which are typically a woman’s responsibility.

AmaranthEthiopian mustard Jute mallow African eggplant Okra Diversity of African Indigenous Vegetables African nightshadeRoselle

Regional Breeding Units The RBU Team in Alaotra Region Madagascar The RBU Team in Samanko Region Bamako - Mali Part of the RBU Team in Arusha AVRDC-RCA The RBU Team in Yaoundé, Cameroon

Regional Breeding Support – Capacity Building Understanding plant Pathology Building capacity in seed health and quality Capacity building in vegetable breeding

AVRDC Africa Region Training Courses ( ) Training Course Number Trained Participants Vegetable Production and Research (4-5 months) 302NARES (mainly), private sector, and NGO’s Special skills Training (1 wk – 2.5 months) 218NARES (mainly), private sector, and NGO’s In-Country Vegetable production management (1 week) 476NARES (mainly), private sector, NGO’s, CBO’s, Civil society, International organizations Research Internship (1 – 6 months) 69Undergraduate Students Graduate Research Training (1 month – 2 years) 28Msc and Ph.D. students Vegetable production, processing and preservation (2-3 days) 2867Progressive Farmers, CBO’s, NGO’s, College students

On-Station and On-farm Multi-location trials PVS: a fast tract approach to variety release and demand promotion in Tanzania Farmers in Dodoma and Iringa region selected African nightshade lines BG16 due to its late flowering habit and broad dark green leaves which they said makes it quite appealing as a leafy vegetable. Seeds of the line BG18, a Solanum americanum was also demanded.

Multi-location variety testing: Private Sector

Innovation Platforms Innovation Platform members of the vBSS Madagascar Hub planning vegetable breeding strategies for their country Innovation Platform members of the vBSS Tanzania Hub on RCA field inspection

Pending Releases in Tanzania Hub CropLines Ethiopian mustardST3, MLEM1 TomatoLBR11, LBR6 African nightshadeSS49, BG16, TZSMN55-3 African eggplantDB3, AB2 & Mayire Green Spider plantGPS and PS CowpeaCP-ML-5 Sweet PepperISPN7-3, Hot Pepper

Private Sector Engagement in Commercialisation of Vegetables Alpha Seeds - Tanzania LAGROTECH SEEDS - Kenya

Seed Commercialization East Africa Seeds Kibo Seeds East Africa GRN Sarl Cameroon SEMANA Madagascar

African eggplant is now a popular cash crop in Tanzania Farmers get on average $1,200/ha/season

From Farms to Markets; Adoption of improved variety ● Sweeter than traditional var. ● Higher income (2-3 times) Major constraints - No formal seed supply - Limited access to seeds

Linking Farmers to Markets Bvumbwe Market - Malawi Shoprite Madagascar

Line DB3 High value marketing of improved variety Linkage to high value markets

Demand Creation ACTIVITIES Field Days Agricultural Shows Seed fairs

Private Sector Engagement in Commercialisation of Vegetables Demand Creation of Vegetables - Dharsh Demand Creation of Vegetable seeds – Cains

Challenges  To define the value chain pathways in terms of income enhancement and nutrition improvement;  To coordinate stakeholder efforts along the value chain;  To address the issue of availability of good quality seeds, both at the national and regional level;  To ensure adequate foundation seed;  To improve business planning and forecasting by public and private partners;  To maintain variety quality through capacity building and strengthening the regulatory system;

 Accelerate the process of demand creation through education and capacity building for both exotic but more so indigenous vegetable varieties;  Uplift, where required, the regulatory environment and promote quality of operations, avoiding falling into a trap of over-regulation;  Instill and maintain an Innovative Systems (Network) Approach and create / strengthen a platform for private – public dialogue and planning for vegetable value chain management;  Encourage innovative processes of adoption both in producing improved varieties, post harvest technologies and marketing strategies Opportunities to support vegetable value chains