National Seeds Policy

The National Seed Policy aims to create a sustainable seed sector to protect national development plans. The National Seed Policy 2012 is based on the Seed Law 2009 and recognizes its main objectives and guidelines. The main beneficiaries of this Policy are farmers who should have better access to the improved seeds. The Policy sets provisions to create an efficient production and distribution system for high-quality seeds. The Policy aims to improve the quality of domestic production and to reduce the importation of seeds. The overall objective of the Policy is to provide food security in the country and improve the nutrition of families. The scope of the Policy includes all plants, cereals, vegetables, forages, and industrial plants’ seeds. The Policy, however, does not contain medical plants, forests trees, ornamental seeds, and wild plants’ seeds. The Policy also is not applicable to issues related to the safety and hygiene of plants in the country. The National Seeds Board, as part of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock, is the authority responsible to implement and monitor this Policy. The Government should encourage the private sector to invest in the seeds sector. The Policy requires cooperatives and farmers associations to be registered within the Ministry for further support. The Government is required to provide financial and technical assistance for governmental and non-governmental research and development institutions. The Policy requires the establishment of proper quality control and evaluation system for improvement of the quality of domestic production. The Policy creates a comprehensive system of seed improvement. An educational program shall be developed to increase farmers’ knowledge. A number of workshops, seminars, and training shall be held for capacity building purpose of the Policy. The Policy requires enhancement of international cooperation in seeds production and seeds improvement.