b'SINCE YOU ASKEDBY: NIELS LOUWAARSFREE SEEDSA PRESENT FROM HELLW hen farmers are in despair,accounting reasons. The result was thatand Kiwis). For once, be prepared to learn humanitarian food suppliesan 8-month variety was distributed in afrom the South! ISSD-Africa, MercyCorp are imperative to lessen humanregion with bimodal rains. So, these poorand Seedsystems.org have jointly created suffering and death. The need for suchfarmers had prepared their land and tooka Seed emergency Response TOOL that actions is in the headlines now withcare of their crop which produced a lot ofcan help practitioners to avoid the biggest Ukrainian grains being stuck in thegreen leaves by the time the dry seasonmistakes. They analyze, based on a few country and the World Food Programmekicked in. They broke their back withoutdecades of experience, direct seed distri-is confronted in a logistical and financialproducing any food. bution, market-based support to clients crisis in order to relieve food shortagesThen finally and least on the radar(e.g., using cash or vouchers instead of in the Middle East and east Africa in par- screen of relief agencies: damage to localhanding out seeds) and market-based ticular. Its double-digit budget increasesseed systems! Handing out free seed cansupport to suppliers.over the past years reaching USD $9.6 bil- seriously disrupt regular seed supply, beSeed is the basis of all crop pro-lion last year, will not meet the increasingit social relations in and among commu- duction; good quality seed of the best purchase and fuel prices. nities of farmers, and more evidentlyavailable variety is not a present from Food supplies are needed, but in thecommercial seed sales and productionheaven but from hard working breeders end, it is more important to make surenetworks. Free seed undermines the con- and seedsmen, but bad seed is a present that food can be produced locally. Thecept that seed is valuable and kills localfrom hell!immediate response has been to supplybusinesses. Experience in Africa shows free seeds and farm implements to farm- that some seed producers get a tremen- Niels Louwaars is the Managing ers affected by natural or human-madedous boost by selling large quantities toDirector at Plantum. This article does disasters. FAO currently has programsthe relief agencies, but such demand isnot necessarily reflect the views of all amounting to USD $35 million worth ofvery unpredictable and often not veryPlantum members.seed distributed in various countries. quality conscious, thus making the boom There are different ways to help suchshort-lived. farmers with seed and various ways thatUkraine has asked for dona-can do a lot of damage.tions of seed this spring and The first risk is logistics: evennow that the war is far from though relief organizations are generallyover, such requests are likely logistics specialists, they tend to lackto re-emerge in a few months agricultural knowledge. Seed need to befrom now. Let me make clear supplied at the very specific moment andthat Ukrainian and African when delayed only two or three weeks,farmers and institutions are the impact may be lost. quite different, but we have to Second: procurement. Relief agen- be aware of similar risks. How cies are commonly using tenders. Theto avoid alienating your local cheapest supplier, meeting the prescribeddistributors? How to avoid long-conditions will get the contract. As longterm disruption with short term as there is some certificate, the account- solutions? How to avoid ants are happy, but we all know thatthat well-willing relief cheap seed is not always what farmersorganisations without need. A specifically killing risk is gettingany seed knowledge step the right varieties. I have seen sorghumin, in parallel to more seeds being distributed in Southernserious initiatives? Sudan briefly after independence. TheWenormallysee relief agency had to buy certified seed indevelopment cooperation bulk (in other countries) for agency-pol- as the south learning from icy reasons. This is fair enough becausethe north (Sorry Aussies you dont want non-germinating seeds. In large quantities because of financial 22IEUROPEAN SEEDIEUROPEAN-SEED.COM'