Seed delivery system in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo: characteristics, stakeholders mapping and challenges towards building a well-functioning seed system under humanitarian and security crises

Figures & data

Figure 1. Map of Ituri Province with surveyed areas.

Figure 2. Structure of the seed production chain in DRC (adapted from Fintrac Inc., 2019).

Figure 3. Summary of the methodology used for stakeholders mapping.

Table 1. Staple crops practiced by households in surveyed areas of northeastern DRC.

Crops	Surveyed areas (n = 300)
	Djugu	Irumu	Mambasa	Mean (%)
Common bean	70.1 (45.3)	46.5 (25.0)	35.6 (26.9)	50.7 (31.8)
Cassava	49.6 (36.8)	65.3 (52.7)	30.8 (26.0)	48.6 (38.9)
Maize	32.2 (9.5)	40.2 (8.9)	16.7 (10.6)	29.7 (9.7)
Sweetpotato	9.1 (2.1)	20.4 (2.1)	2.4 (0.0)	10.6 (3.9)
Peanut	7.6 (3.2)	3.3 (0.9)	11.9 (9.6)	7.6 (4.5)
Rice	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	11.9 (8.7)	3.9 (2.9)
Potato	3.2 (2.1)	6.9 (1.8)	0.0 (0.0)	3.4 (1.3)
Banana	0.3 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	7.4 (0.0)	2.6 (1.6)
Soybean	3.5 (0.0)	0.9 (0.0)	2.2 (1.9)	2.2 (1.0)
Cabbage	2.4 (1.1)	0.0 (0.0)	3.5 (2.9)	2.0 (1.3)
Cocoa	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	5.5 (4.8)	1.8 (1.6)
Tomato	1.2 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	1.0 (1.0)	0.8 (0.3)
Eggplant	1.1 (0.0)	0.3 (0.0)	0.6 (0.0)	0.7 (0.0)
Onion	0.3 (0.0)	0.9 (0.9)	0.0 (0.0)	0.4 (0.3)
Carrot	0.3 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.3 (0.0)	0.2 (0.0)
Palm oil	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.6 (0.0)	0.2 (0.0)

Note: Figures in brackets represent rates of use (in %) as the household main crop, while the values outside the brackets represent the frequency of the overall use (in %) of crops by households in surveyed territories. Households were allowed multiple responses.

Table 2. Sources of seed used by smallholder farmers in northeastern DRC.

Seed sources	Surveyed areas (n = 300)
	Djugu	Irumu	Mambasa	Mean (%)
Local markets	82.1	65.2	85.6	77.2
Previous harvest	2.1	10.7	6.7	6.8
Humanitarian donations	2.1	8.0	2.9	4.5
Seed exchange among farmers	9.5	11.6	4.8	8.7
Formal seed supply	4.2	4.5	0.0	2.9

Note: χ² = 21.41, p-value < 0.001***.

Figure 4. Methods of obtaining seeds of the top 4 staple crops in Ituri. Sources indicated by farmers were those from which the seeds they were using at the time of the survey originated.

Table 3. Area and seed production forecasts for major staple crops in 2022 in Ituri Province.

Crop	Acreage (ha)	Production (kg)	Seed demand* (kg)	Estimated cash flow (US$)**
Peanut	78	70,200	51,955	129,887.5
Common bean	179	143,200	414,079	828,158
Soybean	20	16,000	15,803	31,606
Maize	115.5	173,250	252,342	454,215.6
Rice	3	6000	2700	5400
Irish potato	3	40,000	-	-
Cassava	9	135,000 LM	-	-

*Seed demand was deduced from the total quantity of seed sold by the formal sector in 2022 as reported by the seed regulatory agency (Tables S5 and Table S6). **Estimated seed price was obtained from local seed distributors and the average price was used to calculate the cash flow for each specific crop. At the study period, the average certified seed prices were 2.5$ kg⁻¹ of peanut; 2$ kg⁻¹ for common beans, soybean, Irish potato and rice; 1.8$ kg⁻¹ for synthetic maize; and 0.3$ m⁻¹ for cassava and sweetpotato. LM = linear metre.

Figure 5. Farmers’ varietal preference criteria for staple crops grown in northeastern DRC. RBQ values for each attribute, its perceived importance by farmers and ranks are provided in supplementary Table S8. Perception on the seed price refers to smallholder farmers’ judgment on whether the seed is affordable or not.

Figure 6. Relationships among stakeholders in the seed sector in northeastern DRC. Red dashed lines indicate abnormal relationships (or missing actors) affecting the seed quality in the region.

Table 4. Characteristics of seed multipliers in northeastern DRC.

Characteristics of seed multipliers	Farmer organizations	Private seed enterprises	Local ONGs
Nature of the seed multipliers	+++	+	+++
Sources of finance
- Own funds	+++	+	++
- Production contracts	-	-	+
- External funding	+++	-	++
Species of interest
- Maize	++	+	+++
- Common bean	++	-	++
- Cassava	+++	+	+++
- Peanut	++	-	+++
- Rice	-	-	+++
- Soybean	+	+	+
- Sweetpotato	+	+	+
- Banana	-	-	+
- Irish potato	-	-	+
- Pineapple	-	-	+
Variety type
- Local landrace	+	-	-
- Improved variety	+	+	++
- Local and improved varieties	+	+	++
Owner background
- Agriculture and related fields	-	+	+++
- Unrelated to agriculture	+++	-	+
Training on seed production process	+	+	+++
Major markets (buyers)
- Agro-dealers/ wholesalers	-	+	-
- NGO (local and international)	+	-	++
- Retailers	++	+	-
- Households	+	-	++
Legal documents
- Registration certificate as agro-dealer	-	+	+++
- Registration certificate as seed multiplier	-	+	+++
- Proof of field inspection	-	-	++
- Proof of basic seed source or homologation	-	-	+++
- Latest field inspection reports	-	-	++
- Proof of certification of seed lot marketed	-	+	+++
- Import/export permit	-	-	+
- Varietal descriptors or catalogues	-	-	-

Note: -: absent, +: rare, ++: common, +++: very common.

Table 5. Seed processing and storage practices among seed multipliers in northeastern DRC.

Processing and storage practices	Irumu	Mambasa	Bunia	Cumulated frequency [n (%)]
- Presence of own seed store	-	++	+	3(33.3)
- Presence of anti-birds strips (netting)	-	+	-	1(11.1)
- Presence of pallets	-	++	++	4(44.4)
- Adequate store ventilation	-	+	++	3(33.3)
- Adequate stock-to-wall or stock-to-roof distances	-	++	++	4(44.4)
- Adequate storage capacity	-	++	-	2(22.2)
- Presence of seed shops in farmers’ vicinity	-	+	+	2(22.2)
- Seed treatment	+	+	+	3(33.3)
- Packaging after processing	-	++	+	3(33.3)
- Proper store hygiene	-	++	++	4(44.4)
Seed longevity under storage
- < 3 months	-	++	-	2(22.2)
- 3–6 months	-	-	+++	3(33.3)
Seed quality analyses
- Germination test	-	+	++	3(33.3)
- Genetic purity test	-	-	-	0(0.0)
- Moisture content test	-	-	+	1(11.1)
- Physical purity test	-	++	++	4(44.4)
- Seed health test	-	-	-	0(0.0)
Package label information
- Seed class	-	-	-	0(0.0)
- Species/cultivar	-	+	+	2(22.2)
- Seed lot number	-	-	-	0(0.0)
- Packaging date	-	++	+	3(33.3)
- Packaged seed weight	-	++	+	3(33.3)
- Warning notice on treated seed	-	-	-	0(0.0)
- Probable expiration date	-	-	-	0(0.0)

Note: -: absent, +: rare, ++: common, +++: very common.

Table 6. Characteristics of seed production fields and the seed multipliers’ awareness on seed qualities.

Characteristics of seed production fields	Irumu	Mambasa	Bunia	Cumulative frequency [n (%)]
Number of visited fields (n)	3	3	3	9
Adequate isolation distance	-	++	++	4(44.4)
Adequate planting density	++	++	++	6(66.7)
Off-type removal	++	++	++	6(66.7)
Adequate choice of previous crops	++	++	++	6(66.7)
Easy access to farm labor	-	-	++	2(22.2)
Easy access to farm inputs	+	+	+	3(33.3)
Access to mechanization	-	-	-	0(0.0)
Awareness on standard seed qualities
Physical qualities	-	+	++	3(33.3)
Genetic purity	-	-	-	0(0.0)
Physiological qualities	-	+	++	3(33.3)
Health qualities	-	+	-	1(11.1)
Moisture content	-	+	++	3(33.3)
Seed stock inspection	-	+	++	3(33.3)

Note: -: absent, +: rare, ++: common, +++: very common.

Table 7. Summary of main political, economic, social and technological factors and their influence on the seed system in northeastern DRC.

Factors	Impacts on seed system
Political factors
Low public research funding	Low productivity in terms of seed research and plant breeding, low access to foundation seeds, lack of basic infrastructure, unmotivated and corrupt personal, disproportionately low ratio of seed inspectors
Political instability and civil war	Weak government interventions’ coordination, less public investment in sustainable development, border porosity, insecurity in agricultural zones, facilities sabotage by rebels, less external private investors
Absence of a comprehensive national seed policy	Uncoordinated actions, poor regulatory text, arbitrary dispute handling, tensions and interference among public services, excessive bureaucracy, lack of trust among actors, hesitation of external actors
Economic factors
Poor business environment	Unattractiveness to external and private investments, prohibiting high taxes, high competition with humanitarian NGOs distributing free seeds, poor communication infrastructures rendering the seed flow difficult and expensive, high currency inflation rate, limited access to credit or high interest rate
Lack of public subsidies to local seed multipliers	The seed production cost is high and less competitive with external challengers, thus leading to low seed multipliers-to-distributors ratio. High seed production cost is also partly due to high seed inspection fees and foundation seed import.
Geographical position and opportunism favouring unfair competition	Competition with external markets is high owing to the province’s geographic position, invasion of the seed sector by illegal actors with no awareness of minimum seed requirements and operating procedures
High seed demand from humanitarian actors	Though not reliable in the long run, this is currently an opportunity in the seed business. However, providing seeds free of charge in villages hinders sustainable business models in rural areas.
Social factors
Low education level among the general population	Restricts the population access to information on more profitable varieties, features of a quality seed, etc.
Lack of qualified personnel	Lack of permanent seed research programmes, inadequate university curricula, predominance of substandard practices
High poverty rate and humanitarian crisis	Inability to afford quality seed, and when freely distributed by humanitarians, it hinders local seed multipliers and distributors. Recurrent violence discourages long-term investments, it increases population displacements
Poor extension services and approaches	Poor awareness of regulatory texts among stakeholders, low awareness on improved and most profitable varieties and seeds, low mobility of extension agents, etc. No market intelligence surveys are conducted, leading to inadequacy between the seed and varieties offer and the population preferences or expectations
Technological factors
Poor seed processing facilities	Lack of processing facilities and qualified personnel explains the circulation of substandard seeds. Small-scale seed processing units explode the production cost.
Lack of seed testing laboratories	In the Ituri province, only physical features, seed moisture content and seed germination are used to appreciate seed quality; no laboratory exists for genetic purity and seed health assessments.
Lack of farm mechanization	Manual farming is costly and inefficient to cover the high seed demand in the region. Besides, since Ituri is a mining zone, the labour is expensive.
Poor road infrastructures	High transportation cost, delayed supply, shrinking markets