CROPS4HD - Consumption of Resilient Or-phan Crops & Products for Healthier Diets

The current functioning of seed and food systems in the global south is not sustainable: malnutrition remains widespread, incomes for peasants remain meagre and biodiversity and the diversity of seeds is declining rapidly. Peasants, especially women, still cultivate a diverse array of Neglected and Underutilized Species (NUS) with preferred agronomic, culinary and nutritional characteristics. NUS markets are under-developed and the wider public hardly knows about the nutritional benefits of NUS. In developing countries the formal seed system has fallen short in delivering access to a diversity of seeds for peasants and prohibits in many cases the growth and business development of peasant seed systems, that include NUS.

Switzerland is one of the few developed countries that adopt an integrated perspective on the seed sector (formal and informal systems) and proactively support this approach with its international cooperation activities.

CROPS4HD will be implemented in Tanzania, Chad, Niger and India. The intervention appraoch relates to a PUSH-PULL-POLICY approach, that drives demand (PULL) and supply (PUSH) of NUS food and seeds and influences the enabling environment through advocacy for change in seed laws and other relevant policies (POLICY).

The primary beneficiaries are  peasants, including seed producers, seed traders and seed guardians of NUS, many of them women and youth.

The second group of beneficiaries are consumers, as well as national agricultural research institutes and governmental authorities. 

Outcome 1: The demand of urban and rural consumers for products from farmers’ varieties/landraces, neglected and underutilized species and a healthy diet is increased.

Outcome 2: Smallholder farmers, especially women, agroecologically grow farmers’ varieties/ landraces, neglected and underutilized species as a viable business and improve their livelihoods.

Outcome 3: Regulatory frameworks, strategies and policies at local, national, sub-regional and global level reflect the particularities of integrated seed systems, create an enabling environment for innovative market approaches and incentivize the consumption of healthy, diverse and agroecologically produced food.

Resultados previstos:  

·       2’800’0000 consumers reached by campaigns on healthy food diets based on NUS

·       24,400 lead peasants (min. 50% of them women), acting as multipliers, grow marketa-ble neglected crop spices using agroecological practices

·       300 seed multipliers (women and men) produce improved quality of seeds of NUS

·       74 peasant’ associations strengthened so that they can represent their needs in policy dialogues

        The policy dialogue to formally recognize peasants’ crop varieties in seed regulations at national, sub-regional, regional, and global level has started or has been intensified.

Resultados de las fases anteriores:  

During the entry phase, the project document was developed. This included gender, biodiversity and policy studies, among others.

The cooperation of the different partners at consortium level and at country level was agreed upon.

Outcomes, outputs, targets and indicators have been defined and their baseline established.

Additional partners: Alliance Bioversity International and CIAT, World Vegetable Center

SDC Global Programme Food Security: APBREBES (Association for Plant Breeding for the Benefit of Society); ISSD Africa (Integrated Seed Sector Development in Africa); the new projects on human rights in food systems

SDC East and Southern Africa Division: Strengthening Agro-Biodiversity in Southern Africa

SDC West Africa Division: Opérationnalisation de la filière semencière au Tchad.