BENEFIT-ISSD Project, Oromia East Unit organized a one-day workshop on strategy to improve seed production and marketing system in Hararghe zones. The workshop was on March 4, 2019 at Ras Hotel, Harar.
The workshop was organized to design a strategy for seed production and marketing system in Hararghe zones. Mechanisms to strengthening coordination among actors in seed value chain, actors’ role in demand collection, production and marketing, and ways to ensuring accountability and others.
Two plenary sessions were held on demands compiled by three farmers’ cooperative unions (Afren Kalo, Burka Galeti and Chercher Oda Bultum) from East and West Hararghe zones in collaboration with BoA and CPA. Issues of implementation and challenges of pilot innovation projects to solve SVC bottlenecks; seed quality assurance; EGS production and supply, and improving SPCs autonomy; organizational management; seed utilization trend; seed production and marketing plan; Haramaya University Seed quality control and certification achievements and challenges; University’s EGS production, achievements, challenges, and future plan; and SPCs development process (achievements, challenges) zones cooperative promotion agencies were some of the points raised.
A total of 18 seed sector stakeholders including officials and representatives from regional and zonal Bureau of Agriculture (BoAs), zone cooperative promotion agencies (CPA), Haramaya University, Chercher Oda Bultum, Burka Galeti and Afran Kalo Farmers’ Cooperative Union, and Chiro National Sorghum Research Centre participated in the workshop.