IP support for WASA: a dynamic AID project

ICRISAT is a partner in the West Africa Seed Alliance (WASA).
CAS-IP is working with WASA to develop and implement IP policy that supports small business and a branding strategy that assures quality seed delivered to farmers.

85% of the African workforce is engaged in agriculture and agriculture-related sectors. The majority of agricultural output is produced by small-scale farmers using their own labor and farm-produced seed. With the notable exception of South Africa, crop yields could be doubled or even tripled if farmers had access to new seed varieties, information, fertilizer and tools to increase labor productivity. An increase in yields would improve household food security and nutrition and generate the marketable surpluses needed to drive economic development. Currently, most countries in West Africa have no viable distribution chain for quality seeds, and the marketing output mechanisms are under-developed.

Kumasi, Ghana:

Improvements for the future in progress
This market situation has been ineffectively addressed in the past. A standard response has been for NGOs and development agencies to distribute seed to rural farmers. These efforts rarely take into account agro-ecological matching of seed varieties to farming conditions or farming system, market demand or farmer preferences. This strategy is not sustainable and has not resulted in any long-term productivity improvements. WASA is taking action to stimulate the evolution of a market-driven and sustainable distribution chain by:

identifying prospective local entrepreneurs who could start new business ventures
providing training to qualified entrepreneurs in:
seed distribution
how to write a business plan
how to start and run a business
how to access information regarding seed variety characteristics
how to set up demonstration fields
facilitating bank loans to new businesses by providing partial loan guarantees
helping participating banks design appropriate loan products
raising social venture capital for investment in new businesses
ensuring that appropriate products (new seed, fertilizer, etc) are available by small business as a package for the farmer
providing technical assistance
promoting and facilitating harmonization of regulatory and legal environments
stimulating the development of local seed enterprises
 ensuring farmers have access to quality seed

The Alliance partners
WASA is a public-private partnership consisting of:

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID);
The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT); ICRISAT, the lead partner in WASA, is a member of the alliance of centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and is a leader in the development of seed systems;
CNFA; the leading designer and provider of tailor made training programs for agricultural input distribution systems in Africa;
The African Seed Trade Association. (AFSTA) has deep roots across Africa, and its member seed associations will play a critical advocacy and implementation role in promoting WASA’s goals;
Iowa State University (ISU) Seed Science Center; a world leader in seed research and regulatory environment reform;
The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), a partnership of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation.

WASA has been developed using public and private resources through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and its Global Development Alliance.  See the Business Day article: “Public/private sectors breathe new life into West Africa’s commercial seed sector”.

Additional resources have been contributed to AFSTA to support WASA activities by:

Monsanto, an agricultural company that applies innovation and technology to help farmers around the world, and.:
Pioneer Hi-Bred International, a division of the DuPont Corp.; Pioneer is the world’s leading developer and supplier of advanced plant genetics to farmers worldwide.

Intellectual Property (IP) issues
CAS-IP is providing a number of services to WASA.

The first task is to brand the WASA name with a reputation for trust and reliability.  See a press release on the launch of the brand for more details. The investment that the alliance partners make in WASA will be protected by a unique brand identity that links WASA’s various products and services.

CAS-IP will ensure that WASA’s name and logo are only used to identify products and services that are aligned with WASA’s guiding principles.
CAS-IP is using analytical System Dynamics Modelling methodologies to clarify the roles of IP management, regulatory regimes and the legal environment in pursuing the Alliance goals.
 WASA will be able to use the outputs of this research to highlight areas that will support small business for example, regulatory harmonization for the West African seed industry.
 CAS-IP’s involvement with WASA is just beginning and reports on challenges and solutions will be forthcoming as the project gathers momentum.

CAS is honored to have been invited to support the venture and views this a way to share our experience as an opportunity to contribute to the success of WASA.

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Tags: branding, distribution chain, market development, seed, WASA