National Seed Policy 2018.

The Government of Malawi recognizes the fundamental importance of a sustainable seed industry in contributing to increased agricultural production and diversification. Through appropriate policies and programmes, Government endeavors to establish a conducive environment for the development of the seed industry. Furthermore, government recognizes the importance of both public and private investments in research, training, marketing and the provision of support services in the seed industry. In order to realize improved productivity in the agricultural sector, increased access to affordable and high quality inputs such as seed is critical. The crop sub-sector forms the bulk of both the rural livelihoods and about 30 per cent contribution to the country's GDP. This national seed policy focuses on the formal seed systems in order to catalyze productivity improvement by increasing production, access to and the use of improved varieties and high quality seed. Furthermore, it provides for distinctiveness, uniformity and stability (DUS) as well as the Value for Cultivation and Use (VCU) of varieties' tests. Informal seed is, therefore recognized only to the extent that it maintains known genetic purity and is produced under recommended conditions that maintain its genetic purity (pag. 1).
Effective seed trade is one of the essential components in the attainment of food security in the region. However, there are some challenges being faced such as lack of access to high quality seed due to high seed prices, unavailability of high quality seed in the rural areas, and lack of credit facilities for farmers to buy high quality seed. SADC and COMESA have different seed regulations including standards of different crops. Malawi has to harmonise its standard with standard regimes of both SADC and COMESA in order to be able to trade with countries in the two regional blocks (pag. 2). Within the Policy Priority Area 5: Biotechnology and Biosafety Research, Agriculture biotechnology has the capacity to increase agricultural productivity, enhance human health and nutritional well-being. It can also increase efficiency in quality control, conserve biodiversity, natural resources and the environment. However, there is limited capacity in biotechnology and biosafety research and development (pag. 8).
The overall goal of the National Seed Policy is to provide clear guidelines for the development and promotion of the seed industry in order to raise agricultural productivity through the provision of sustainable, adequate and high quality seeds. The Policy Outcomes are: Enhanced appropriate and effective seed regulatory framework; Enhanced seed quality assurance for better performance of agriculture; An established reliable and internationally acceptable seed certification system; Enhanced growth of the local seed industry to ensure farmers' access to improved varieties and seeds (pag. 3).
Specifically, the National Seed Policy objectives are: enhance appropriate and effective seed regulatory framework; enhance seed quality assurance for better performance of agriculture; establish reliable and internationally acceptable seed certification system; enhance growth of the domestic seed industry (pag. 3).
The policy priority areas include: institutional, regulatory and legal framework; seed certification and quality control information system for the seed industry; production of different classes of seed; biotechnology and biosafety research; seed marketing and distribution; seeds orchards and vegetative propagated materials and integration of seed topics in education curriculum (pag. 4).