Analysis of Seed Potato Systems in Ethiopia

TLDR

Ethiopia’s seed potato supply relies on informal, alternative, and formal systems, with the informal system dominating due to low seed quality and the formal system being too small to make a significant impact. The study seeks to analyze Ethiopia’s seed potato systems, identify constraints, and prioritize improvements, recommending enhanced seed quality, farmer awareness, new varieties, quality control, and coordinated self‑regulation across informal, alternative, and formal systems. The authors used desk research, rapid appraisal, formal surveys, expert elicitation, field observations, and local knowledge to analyze seed systems and propose a linked, self‑regulated framework across informal, alternative, and formal sectors.

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the seed potato systems in Ethiopia, identify constraints and prioritize improvement options, combining desk research, rapid appraisal and formal surveys, expert elicitation, field observations and local knowledge. In Ethiopia, informal, alternative and formal seed systems co-exist. The informal system, with low quality seed, is dominant. The formal system is too small to contribute significantly to improve that situation. The informal seed system should prioritize improving seed quality by increasing awareness and skills of farmers, improving seed tuber quality of early generations and market access. The alternative and formal seed systems should prioritize improving the production capacity of quality seed by availing new varieties, designing quality control methods and improving farmer's awareness. To improve overall seed potato supply in Ethiopia, experts postulated co-existence and linkage of the three seed systems and development of self-regulation and self-certification in the informal, alternative and formal cooperative seed potato systems.