Future Agricultures Working Paper 135
by Dominic Glover, Amit Kumar, Dawit Alemu, Hannington Odame, Maureen Akwara and Ian Scoones
January 2016
The international emergence of India’s generic pharmaceuticals industry is seen as a success for international development and cooperation, bringing affordable drugs to populations not only in India itself but across the developing world, including in Africa.
Could India’s thriving seed sector play a similar role in delivering affordable, high-quality seeds to African farmers? India shares some of the diverse agro-ecologies and crops found in Africa, so it is plausible that technologies and methods used by Indian farmers might also be relevant to African situations. India’s development story, as an emerging economy with millions of its own small-scale cultivators, might indeed provide relevant knowledge, expertise and investments to help develop the seed sector in Africa – and thereby to support economic development, food security and poverty alleviation in that continent. But what is the realistic nature and scope of this potential?
See also Policy Brief: Indian seeds for African markets: South–South trade and technical cooperation
