Participants of the CD Seed project’s final workshop
Final meeting
The
seed sown in Ethiopia
is
bearing fruit
For
ten years, the Capacity Development Seed project has promoted seed
research and supply for institutions and smallholders in Ethiopia.
The final workshop showed what lasting impacts the initiative will
also have.
Some
colleagues may have wondered why the Ethiopian flag was hoisted in
front of KWS’ main building in Einbeck on June 28. The reason was
the final workshop on the Capacity Development Seed (CD Seed)
project. The project’s objective was to strengthen the capacities
of Ethiopian research teams in several areas. The overriding mission
was to conserve plant genetic resources, to introduce efficient
strategies for improving barley, wheat and broad beans, and to secure
smallholders’ access to improved seed. CD
Seed was considered a model project early on – due to its work at
the interface between conservation of plant genetic resources, their
efficient use in plant breeding, and smallholders’ access to
improved seed.
KWS had financed the project together with the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and the German Association for the Promotion of Plant Innovations (GFPi) since 2012. KWS’ funding was a contribution to benefit sharing under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute (EBI), the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) and nine seed cooperatives were also involved in implementing the project in Ethiopia. KWS itself acted in an advisory capacity on the ground, providing support in the shape of special equipment and training, especially in the areas of breeding, seed production and team building.
CD Seed has brought about these significant advances
The mutual sharing of knowledge in the project was an enrichment for all the parties involved. Synergies between the barley and broad bean breeding programs mean that the equipment supplied by KWS is used for both of them and their efficiency is increased. In the near future, improved broad bean varieties will contribute to the sustainability of the cultivation systems. The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture will support further activities until the end of 2023. In addition, the Society for International Cooperation has acquired a new project to establish permanent business ties between the Ethiopian barley breeding program and local malting plants. Peer Wilde, a former breeder at KWS, will continue to advise the Ethiopian breeding programs in the new project under the direction of the Society for International Cooperation. Transitioning of the CD Seed project into a self-sustaining initiative thus appears to have been successful.
Objectives of the final meeting
Dialogue and critical discussion on the results of CD Seed in Ethiopia.
- Discussion of past, ongoing or planned German/Ethiopian cooperation initiatives in the area of plant breeding, genetic resources, seed system research and capacity expansion.
- Exploration of options for future synergies that could help make the achievements of the CD Seed project more sustainable.
© KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA 2025
