Ethiopia-Netherlands Seed Partnership
Guiding Seed Sector Transformation in Ethiopia
The mission of the Ethiopia-Netherlands Seed Partnership is to enable the private sector in Ethiopia to deliver farming men and women high quality seed of improved varieties much needed for food security and nutrition, and climate resilience
Latest news and updates
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Call for the Internship Opportunity
Stichting Wageningen Research (SWR) is an international NGO registered in Ethiopia since March 2021 with the FDRE Agency for Civil Society Organizations. The organization is established with the objectives of promoting a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable food systems in Ethiopia. One of the roles of SWR Ethiopia, through its Ethiopia Netherland Seed Partnership (ENSP),Continue…
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The National Seed Forum urged the government to devote more emphasis to the seed sector
A National Seed Forum was held at Desalegn Hotel, Addis Ababa on 27th of April 2023. The Forum was organized by the Ethiopian Seed Association (ESA) with support from the Ethiopia Netherlands Seed Partnership. The forum’s theme was “Guiding efforts towards seed sector transfiguration in Ethiopia”. Mr. Abdulsemed Abdo, a delegate of the Minister ofContinue…
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Call for MSc./MA. Research Fund Opportunity for Female Students
Stichting Wageningen Research (SWR) Ethiopia is an International NGO registered in Ethiopia since March 2021 with the FDRE Agency for Civil Society Organizations. The organization is established with the objectives of promoting a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable food systems in Ethiopia. One of the projects implemented by SWR is Ethiopia is the Ethiopia NetherlandsContinue…
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Ethio-Netherlands Seed Committee Reinitiated
The Ethio-Netherlands Seed Committee (ENS-committee) held its first meeting on February 23, 2023, at the Radisson Blu hotel in Addis Ababa, with the goal of facilitating trade and investment in the seed sector by creating a conducive business environment for international companies. The Netherlands and Ethiopian governments’ cooperation in fostering an environment that is favourableContinue…
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ENSP advisory board meeting
Are we doing the right things and are we doing things right? These are fundamental learning questions for any impact driven organization and ENSP is no exception. On Wednesday February 22nd, ENSP convened its first Advisory Board meeting, bringing representatives of the public and private sectors from Ethiopia and the Netherlands together to help answerContinue…
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Solynta and Pepsico join forces to empower Ethiopian potato farmers with hybrid potato seed technology
Solynta and PepsiCo’s Ethiopia-based Foods Unit, Senselet Food Processing PLC (“Senselet”) have launched a joint project to introduce hybrid true potato seeds (HTPS) to Ethiopia. Together, the parties will enrich and expand the country’s growing potato sector by introducing advanced potato genetics with Solynta’s innovative non-GMO hybrid breeding technology. Hybrid breeding enables focused breeding ofContinue…
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A state-of-the-art seed producing companies in Ethiopia visited
Staff from the ENSP project and a Plantum representative visited two cutting-edge seed producing companies: Nunhems, which is situated in the Amhara region close to Arerti town, and Solagrow PLC, a potato seed producer company situated around Bishoftu city. Ben Depraetere, Managing Director of Nunhems Ethiopia PLC and Country Head of BASF’s vegetable seed businessContinue…
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National Seed Road Map Guide
What is required to strengthen a seed sector resulting in an increase in the use of quality seed of improved varieties for the crops that smallholder farmers grow? What does it take for policy makers, seed sector stakeholders and practitioners to answer the questions: Where are we now? Where do we want to go, and…
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Counterfeit Seed: a growing challenge that is threatening the sector in Ethiopia
The problem of fake, counterfeit, or substandard seed in Ethiopia has received little attention, yet there are substantial indications of the problem as an emerging challenge facing the seed sector. Cognizant of this fact, ENSP has organized stakeholder workshops at Adama and Bahir Dar to provide a platform for stakeholders to discuss the status ofContinue…
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Exploring the Potential of using HTPS for variety registration in Ethiopia: Consultative workshop
Hybrid True Potato Seed (HTPS) is a new technology that has the potential to revolutionize potato production in Ethiopia. It is not possible to use TPS for potato mainly because of segregation and the use of tuber has affected rapid multiplication and marketing of potato seed. HTPS is believed to solve such problem. As aContinue…
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Dysfunctional Plant Variety Protection in Ethiopia: Professionals’ Perspective
Plant Variety Protection (PVP) is one of the areas of debate among professionals in the sector. Beyond protecting the right of the breeder, it is also linked to international trade and different countries follow different system of protection. Although proclamation 481/2006 was enacted as early as 2006 and it was revised without being implemented inContinue…
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Vegetable seed import: A growing trend in both import volume and government spending
The use of quality seed is essential for production and marketing of vegetables in Ethiopia. So far, large proportion of the vegetable seed is imported while the remaining proportion is produced domestically. Locally produced seeds include low yielding local varieties of some vegetables and relatively high yielding improved ones which have been released by publicContinue…
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Officials and senior experts visited the Netherlands and Germany: Lessons brought home
The Ethiopian Agricultural Authority (EAA), a recently established authority in charge of regulating the agricultural sector, is now being led by a new management team that need capacity building and exposure. It is very critical for the authority to explore how regulatory system in other countries operate in order to bring lessons and new ideasContinue…
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Developing Forage Value Chain: A potential strategic option to address livestock feed problems
The practice of growing forage crops for sale is not yet an established culture in Ethiopia. There are a few improved forage seed producers on the one hand while a number of dairy farms demanding forages, on the other. In between, however, there are no commercial actors who grow forage crops for sale. Because ofContinue…
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Revisiting Seed Science and Technology Curriculum to Respond to Market Demand
In Ethiopia, seed businesses usually struggle to find skilled human resources in seed science and technology, as well as seed business management. The existing curriculum, which was developed some years ago, need to take into consideration new developments in the seed sector. Recognizing the need for more trained human resources in seed science and technology,Continue…
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The first ENSP Newsletter published
The purpose of the ENSP newsletter is to provide relevant information on the latest developments and current issues in the Ethiopian seed sector and the partnership supportactivities.The first issue highlight the major activities that have been taken place between January and June 2022. It has covered the transition that in progress for crop variety testingContinue…
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Vegetable Seed Import in Ethiopia: A Scoping Study Highlights
The conducive environment for vegetable production and the high quality of imported vegetable seeds has increased the demand for imported vegetable seeds in Ethiopia. The varieties that companies import must be registered. However, the registration process is very challenging for vegetable seed companies. In order to assess the import trend of vegetable seed, map currentContinue…
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Bringing Phytosanitary Services in to Focus
The phytosanitary service has been given little focus in Ethiopia for long. Due to various reasons the service provided is not to the level expected in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and quality of service. Often there are complaints from the service users. One of the reasons for the gap is believed to be the levelContinue…
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Transition in Progress: Reclaiming responsibility for crop variety testing
Ethiopian seed proclamation and seed regulation specify that variety testing, both Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability(DUS) test and Value for Cultivation and Use/National Performance (VCU/NPT) Trials, must be carried out by an impartial authority. In reality, the MoA has not taken up variety testing as impartial organization, rather research institutes that also generate the varieties doContinue…
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Establishment of an Agricultural Authority and its Relevance to the Seed Sector
Regulating the seed sector started with the start of variety approval by NCIC in 1982, which was more consolidated since 1992. Yet regulation was only in place in 1997 that included the different aspects of seed from variety release to seed marketing. Until 2004, activities related to seed regulation was under the Ethiopian Seed Agency,Continue…
ENSP - Ethiopia-Netherlands Seed Partnership 
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