New push to protect Africa’s seed diversity

Calls are growing for Africa to invest in seed systems as a new report warns the continent is steadily losing plant diversity vital for food security, climate resilience and livelihoods.

Experts say significantly higher investment is needed in national seed systems, genebanks, research capacity and farmer led conservation to safeguard the genetic resources required to feed a growing population in a warming world.

“Conserving and using Africa’s plant genetic resources is not a luxury. It is a necessity for resilient agrifood systems in a changing climate,” said FAO Plant Production and Protection Division Deputy Director Chikelu Mba.

Some progress is being recorded, with 14 African countries reporting that 44 percent of their seed collections have been studied and described, a rate above the global average. In addition, 21 countries are actively breeding improved varieties across 81 crop species, including underutilised crops such as African eggplant, moringa and indigenous vegetables.

However, the Third Report on the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, launched by the FAO and partners, finds that crops, their traditional varieties and wild relatives are disappearing faster than they are being conserved across the continent.

The report warns that this trend is steadily shrinking the genetic pool needed to develop climate resilient food systems as droughts, floods and other extreme weather events intensify.

“This report shows clearly that Africa is losing plant genetic diversity at a pace that threatens food security, nutrition and the overall resilience of agrifood systems,” said Mba.

Crop diversity, including farmers’ traditional varieties known as landraces, wild food plants and the genetic relatives of major crops, plays a critical role in breeding improved varieties that can withstand pests, disease and climate shocks. But many of these resources, Mba said, are disappearing before their potential can be harnessed.

Across sub Saharan Africa, the report found that about 16 percent of more than 12,000 locally adapted crop varieties recorded across 19 countries are threatened, narrowing farmers’ options at a time when climate stress is intensifying.

Traditional varieties of staple crops such as sorghum, millet, yam, rice and traditional cotton are steadily disappearing from farms, often replaced by commercial seed varieties that may not be well suited to Africa’s diverse soils, climates or farmers’ needs.

Experts say this erosion of diversity weakens the continent’s ability to adapt agriculture to a changing climate.

“Africa’s food security and nutrition depend on the widest possible diversity of crops, trees and wild plants that farmers and communities have relied on for generations,” said Eliane Ubalijoro, Chief Executive Officer of the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR ICRAF). “As climate change accelerates, losing this diversity means losing the very options that allow agriculture to adapt,” she said.

The report also highlights sharp declines in wild food plants, species that provide vital nutrients and act as safety nets during food shortages. Plants such as baobab, shea, marula, tamarind and African bush mango, along with indigenous leafy vegetables like amaranth, spider plant, African nightshade and jute mallow, are increasingly under pressure.

More than 70 percent of assessed wild food plant diversity in Africa is threatened, largely due to habitat loss, land use change and climate stress, a rate of decline double the global average.

Wild relatives of major crops are also at risk, with over 70 percent of assessed crop wild relatives in Africa threatened, while African genebanks conserve only about 14 percent of those collected.

Wild relatives carry important genetic traits such as drought tolerance and pest resistance that plant breeders rely on to develop improved crop varieties.

The continent currently stores around 220,000 seed samples from nearly 4,000 plant species across 56 genebanks, but only about 10 percent are securely duplicated elsewhere, leaving them vulnerable to risks such as conflict, flooding, power outages and chronic underinvestment.

Drought now drives nearly two thirds of emergency seed interventions across Africa, with 110 responses recorded in 20 countries, often replacing local seed varieties with those less suited to local conditions.

“Plant genetic resources are the foundation of sustainable agrifood systems. Without stronger policies, investment and coordination, Africa risks losing irreplaceable plant diversity that supports livelihoods, food security and nutrition,” said Mba.

OPA News