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icn-agrilinks-event Agrilinks Event

Operating Models for Early Generation Seed Production: 10 Case Studies

June theme month webinar banner
Photo Credit: Context

Event Date: Jun 24, 2020

Time: 01:30 PM to 03:00 PM (GMT +0)

Location: United States

Online: Online Event

Event Links: Webinar RecordingCase Studies on Early Generation Seed Systems: A Project OverviewJune is Seed Systems Month

Host: USAID Bureau for Resilience and Food Security and Context Global Development

Information

Public research institutions in the Global South have developed and released improved seed varieties that exhibit better yield and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses than farmer-saved seed. And yet despite the advantages of these improved varieties, they have not been broadly adopted by farmers.

In 2016, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and United States Agency for International Development jointly funded studies in the African Green Revolution Alliance countries. These studies indicated that the lack of early generation seed (EGS) production is a primary bottleneck that constrains agricultural development and that partnerships between the public and private sector would be needed to resolve it.

But what do partnerships for EGS production and distribution look like in practice? What are the typical roles and responsibilities of public and private sector actors? And how is EGS production sustainably financed? 

Join the USAID Bureau for Resilience and Food Security and Context Global Development to hear about lessons learned from studying ten EGS public-private partnership models and to hear from leading stakeholders in Bangladesh and Nigeria are on the front lines ensuring that commercial seed producers have reliable and sustainable access to clean, true-to-type foundation seed of improved varieties.

Presenters

Mark Huisenga
Presenter
Mark Huisenga
Senior Program Manager, USAID Bureau for Resilience and Food Security

Mark Huisenga is an agricultural specialist with over 20 years of professional experience in grain, fertilizer and seed value chains in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.  At USAID Mr. Huisenga is responsible for... more commercialization and scaling of new technologies as well as managing the Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa, a Global Development Alliance between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). He manages the Partnerships for Africa Seed Technology Transfer Activity with Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Development. Previously, he was an Ag Director at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a private consultant, and a business unit manager for Cargill Technical Services. In these roles he focused on due diligence for agricultural investments. He serves on several boards and advisory committees that share the objective of international agricultural development. less

Lauren Good
Presenter
Lauren Good
Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Lauren has been a leader in both private and non-profit arenas, as a business owner, board member, and consultant. As an innovative problem solver with the ability to communicate across diverse audiences, Lauren intuitively... more translates previous experiences, academic frameworks, and operational models for adaptability in new situations. As an entrepreneur and generalist, enjoys he the balance of “big picture” strategic thinking with the satisfaction of advising multiple projects, attention to efficiency and discovering new ways for incremental improvement. A lifelong learner, dedicated to continuous personal and professional development. MBA with emphasis on Strategy, Organizational Development and Team Marketing. Passionate about using entrepreneurship, innovation, and good business practices, to create social and economic opportunity for others. As Project Manager, experienced in program design, performance monitoring and evaluation, data analysis, IT integration, budgeting, team development, strategic alignment, and stakeholder engagement. less

Jason Nickerson
Presenter
Jason Nickerson
Senior Program Manager, Context Global Development

Jason is a Sr. Program Manager with the Context Global Development (Context), an NGO that provides management consulting for industry-leading agriculture & biotechnology companies, governmental & non-governmental agencies,... more and public research institutions. At Context, Jason is responsible for leading cross-functional teams in the design and implementation of corporate strategy projects and global development initiatives. His advisory work is centered on agricultural systems, with an emphasis on seed systems and technology deployment through public-private partnership models. Prior to Context, Jason worked in risk management, fixed income, and served as Peace Corps volunteer in Kyrgyzstan. less

Amsale
Presenter
Amsale Megistu
Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Amsale has over 20 years of international development experience, and currently leads the prioritization and coordination of the agricultural development investments in Ethiopia and manages in-country relationships with key... more government, donors, and grantee partners. Prior to  moving to the foundation’s Ethiopia office in 2015, Amsale was the focal person for the engagement with AGRA (the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa), the foundation’s agricultural development largest grantee in Africa. less

Mark Tokula
Presenter
Mark Tokula
Assistant Director & Operational Head , Umudike Seeds

Mark Tokula is an Assistant Director and Coordinator of the Seed Technology program at the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) located in Umudike, Nigeria. He leads Umudike Seeds, the early generation seed (EGS) company... more established by NRCRI for the production and sale of EGS and also renders advisory services to clients. He is leveraging on the success of the Building an Economically Sustainable and Integrated Cassava Seed System (BASICS) project to deliver on the commercialization of EGS for cassava, yam, and sweetpotato. He is passionate about delivering clean seed of demanded varieties to commercial seed producers and the millions of Nigerian farmers who depend on root & tuber crops for food and income security. less

Khalequzzaman
Presenter
Mohammad Khalequzzaman
Chief Scientific Officer & Head, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute

Dr. Mohammad Khalequzzaman is an accomplished plant breeder, researcher, and seed production expert. He serves as the Head of Genetic Resources and Seed Division of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and leads all breeder... more seed production, processing, and packaging activities at the institution. He actively involved in the development of “Rice Seed Network” for efficient and quick delivery of quality rice seed to the end users where more than 1000 seed entrepreneurs are involved and making liaison with them and linking them to seed systems. His contributions have acclaimed recognition from honourable subject experts. He is actively associated with different academics and societies. He has over 120 scientific publications to his name and serves as the principal investigator for numerous, high-profile research and seed production & distribution initiatives in Bangladesh.  less

Filed Under: Agricultural Productivity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

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Event Resources

Webinar Recording
Presentation Audio Transcripts243.20 KB
2020624 Presentation Chat Transcripts.pdf223.50 KB
Webinar Recording
Case Studies on Early Generation Seed Systems: A Project Overview
June is Seed Systems Month
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