Tanzania Alliance for Biodiversity and SWISSAID deliver workshop
From the 28th to the 30th of August 2025, Tanzania Alliance for Biodiversity organised the workshop “Creating Space for Farmers’ Seeds in Seed Regulations – Capitalizing International Learnings and Identifying Options for Tanzania”. The workshop was attended by 55 participants including Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture, Members of
Tanzanian Parliament, regional and continental experts, civil society organizations, researchers, and farmer
representatives from 10 African and European countries.
The workshop was very successful, enabling participants to propose a number of options for Farmer-Managed Seed Systems within the legal framework in Tanzania and beyond. It was also an opportunity to unpack the EAC Seed and Plant Variety Bill and to call upon EALA to consider farmers’ rights in the Bill. In addition, participants contributed to the AU Farmer-Managed Seed Systems Bill, making the discussions a true eye-opener on many key issues related to Farmer-Managed Seed Systems.
Key findings
- Farmer-Managed Seed Systems (FMSS) are the backbone of Tanzanian agriculture, providing over 80% of seeds used by farmers and playing a vital role in food security, resilience, and agrobiodiversity, yet remain legally unrecognized and unsupported in the Seed Act of 2003.
- Tanzania’s seed laws lack clear provisions on farmer-managed seeds, creating uncertainty around farmers’ rights to save, exchange, and sell seed. This hinders alignment with international commitments like ITPGRFA and UNDROP.
- Legal recognition of FMSS within the Seed Act and other relevant laws is essential to protect farmers’ rights, enable diversity in seed systems, and promote innovation. Experiences from Ethiopia and India offer proven policy models.
- Inclusive registration systems and alternative quality assurance mechanisms like Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) can reduce barriers for farmers and legitimize diverse seed practices while maintaining quality standards tailored to local realities.
- Institutional reforms, including reviving the PGRFA Bill and supporting community seed banks, are critical for long-term, systemic integration of FMSS into national agriculture policy and seed laws hence ensuring Tanzania builds a pluralistic, resilient, and sovereign seed system.
Workshop report and policy brief now available
The revised version of the workshop report is now available here: Creating space for FMSS Workshop Report 2025
A policy brief has also been produced and is available here: POLICY BRIEF CREATING SPACE FOR FMSS 2025
Happy reading!
