The five-year Building an Economically Sustainable and Integrated Cassava Seed System, Phase 2 (BASICS-II) was awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and its partners on 14 May 2020. The project has nurtured the development of sustainable Early Generation Seed systems through public-private partnerships and linked these seed systems to networks of entrepreneurs and processors that are ready to multiply, distribute, and sell clean planting materials (Seeds) of new and improved varieties emanating from linked breeding systems.
BASICS-II aims to provide farmers with access to affordable, quality-assured seed of cassava varieties in demand by local food and processor markets by strengthening a commercially viable seed value chain operating across breeder, foundation, and certified seed classes. The improved cassava seed value chain will enable more efficient dissemination and adoption of improved varieties, increase the income of the cassava farmers and seed entrepreneurs, ensure gender equity, and contribute to the overall productivity of agricultural transformation in Nigeria and Tanzania.
COMPONENTS
OUR ROLE
We are leading the Processor-Led Model component (PLM) of the BASICS-II project focused on developing a processor-associated seed system. The goal of the PLM is to demonstrate that processors can produce planting material that features profit-maximizing processing characteristics for their farms and outgrowers in an economically sustainable and replicable manner.
Our three key focus areas in the project include;
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- Provision of technical and business advisory support to processors on stem and root production through outgrower engagement.
- Provision of business capacity-strengthening support to cassava EGS companies and commercial seed entrepreneurs.
- Collaboration with the PMU to organize Seed Business Summits and create awareness of the BASICS-II model across African countries.
PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS
