Bangladesh seed sector assessment

The role of agriculture in Bangladesh’s economy has historically been significant. Although the contribution o agriculture to the country’s GDP has gradually decreased because of the growth of other sectors like manufacturing and services, the government still relies on the sector as a catalyst for economic growth and has ambitious plans to transform the agricultural sector. This transformation entails a focus on sustainable and nutritious food production, fostering entrepreneurship, enhancing service access, modernizing institutions and policies in the sector emphasizing high-value crops, and building resilience to climate change. However, numerous challenges, such as population growth, worsening soil fertility, diminishing access to crucial natural resources, increased vulnerability of crop varieties to pests and diseases, and persistent poverty affecting food access, threaten future agricultural growth and food security. Acknowledging these challenges, the Bangladesh Government has placed a high priority on agricultural research, with particular emphasis on seed sector development, as a crucial component of the national food system transformation agenda. - Recognizing the importance of addressing these challenges, The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN) in Dhaka and SeedNL seek to identify strategies for supporting the development of a well-functioning seed sector in Bangladesh and fostering collaboration between the Bangladesh-Netherlands governments and private sector actors between the two countries. In the aftermath, this Seed Sector Assessment (SSA) serves as an initial step in evaluating the current performance of the Bangladesh seed sector and set directions for future investments and collaborations between the two countries. - The assessment was guided by three fundamental questions: Where are we now? Where do we want to go? How do we get there? To address these questions, the SSA utilized a triangulation of assessment results combining a desk study of secondary data with primary data emerging from stakeholder consultations and surveys. - The SSA delves into an in-depth review of the seed systems for horticultural crops, with a specific focus on potato, vegetables, and flowers. Analysis was performed on trends in cultivated areas, production, productivity, and seed demand and supply for each crop group. The assessment also investigated the configuration of seed systems for the three crop groups along with the identification of operators and service providers within the seed value chain. An examination of the major constraints hindering seed system performance was an integral component of the assessment. Moreover, the SSA encompasses an analysis of the policy and regulatory framework governing the seed sector and explores the institutional arrangements shaping the sector. - As final practical step, constraints identified in the desk study and stakeholder consultations were translated into seed sector ambitions. Challenges were identified across key seed sector functions, including seed production, value addition and distribution, service provision, seed utilization, stakeholder organization, sector regulation, sector coordination, and funding. The outcomes of the study were shared and discussed with a diverse group of seed sector stakeholders through workshops held in both Bangladesh and the Netherlands. The valuable insights and opinions of these stakeholders were incorporated to shape the final set of ambitions. - Bangladeshi stakeholders have prioritized several key seed intervention areas. Many of these interventions are sector-wide, while others are specific to the sub-sectors of potatoes, vegetables, and flowers. Sector- wide interventions include enhancing public-private partnerships for variety development and research, establishing an independent seed certification authority, establishing an independent plant quarantine authority, establishing national genetic resources centre focusing on vegetables, potatoes, and flowers, implementing the Plant Variety Protection Act, harmonizing seed rules and regulations with international standards, reviewing and simplifying seed import regulatory procedures that delay seed imports, strengthening the capacity of the Bangladesh Seed Association, developing the Bangladesh Seed Portal as a one-stop-shop to facilitate seed business and trade, strengthening the market inspection system to curb counterfeiting in seeds, and enhancing private sector-led seed extension for the increased uptake of quality seeds of new varieties that are climate-adaptive and in demand in the market. Crop-specific interventions include strengthening capacity in local production of seed potatoes, establishing potato seed producers cooperatives, promoting protected agriculture for vegetable seed production, developing a floriculture sector development policy, building capacity in flower quality seed production, and strengthening the Bangladesh Flowers Society and Nursery Association. - Overall, this SSA report will support stakeholders in Bangladesh and the Netherlands in developing collaboration aimed at transforming the Bangladesh seed sector with a specific focus on potato, vegetables and flowers.