On Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 March 2022, at the foyer Jeune Viateur of Bouaké, Inades-Formation Côte d’Ivoire, in collaboration with the Coalition for the Protection of African Genetic Heritage (COPAGEN), organized a conference-debate on the theme ” peasant seeds and the right to food “.
The objective of this conference was to contribute to enlighten the public on the issues related to farmers’ seeds in terms of realizing the right to food and food sovereignty.
Present at this conference were several farmers from the regions of Gbeke, Tchologo and Bagoué, regional representatives of state and communal structures, including the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Animal Resources and Fisheries, the City Council, the management of the wholesale market of Bouaké and seed producers.
The conference was opened by three speeches, namely that of the representative of the Mayor of Bouaké, Mrs. KEITA MASSANDIE TOURE, Municipal Councillor, followed by the Director of Inades-Formation Côte d’Ivoire, Mrs. Zéi Pauline, and finally the opening speech of the Regional Director of the Ministry of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs. Assamoi Yvette
The conference itself was structured around three papers.
The first communication had for theme: Peasant seeds or industrial seeds: Which choice for the concretization of the right to food? It was made by the Executive Secretary of COPAGEN, Mr. Jean-Paul SEKELI. This paper presented the general context of seeds in Côte d’Ivoire, showed the level of contribution of each type of seed to the right to food.
The second communication on the theme: What are farmer seeds? was made by Dr. SIENE Ambroise, teacher-researcher at Péléforo GON COULIBALY University (Korhogo). This presentation focused on the concept of farmer seeds, its benefits and why value them.
The third communication on the theme ” the place of farmer seeds in public policies and regulatory frameworks in Côte d’Ivoire” was presented by Mrs. Assamoi Yvette, Regional Director of Agriculture and Rural Development of Gbêkê.
The three presentations were followed by discussions that focused on the following points:
- The state’s view on GMOs;
- The state’s view of farmer seed and the rate of use of farmer seed;
- The availability of quality farmers’ seeds and the possibility of setting up seed banks;
- Climate change and farmers’ seeds
The organization of this conference served as an introduction to the launch of the concepts of Farmer Seed Entrepreneurship (FSE) and the Endogenous Seed Quality Control System (EQCS) on Thursday, March 23, 2023.
Mr. KOUAME Alphonse, in charge of food systems projects at the General Secretariat and in charge of farmers’ seed issues, led a presentation session today on the Peasant Seed Entrepreneurship (PSE) and the Endogenous Seed Quality Control System (EQCS) with 25 seed producers on .
Asseman Parfait, Project Manager, Inades-Formation Côte d’Ivoire.
