Good Seeds, Better Lives for Poor Farmers

The Program for Africa's Seed Systems

In recent decades, agricultural productivity has increased significantly throughout much of the world. But that hasn't happened in many parts of Africa, where farmers—particularly in the sub-Saharan region—still struggle to grow enough food to feed and care for their families.

Agricultural conditions vary widely across the continent, and for small farmers, seeds bred to thrive in specific soil and weather conditions can mean the difference between a meager harvest and an abundant one. But improved seeds—those bred for traits such as resistance to insects, disease, and drought—are scarce and expensive to produce.

The Program for Africa’s Seed Systems (PASS) is the first initiative of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). PASS was launched in 2006 with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation to help answer a very important question: How do you ensure poor farmers have access to the quality seeds they need?

The goal of the PASS initiative is to help create new varieties of seeds and make improved seeds much more accessible in Africa, especially to rural farmers. This will help the farmers boost their productivity, increase their incomes, and lift themselves—and their families—out of hunger and poverty.

Through the following stories, learn about the investments PASS is making in four key areas and introduce the people who are benefiting from the initiative’s early successes.