Did you know? The total seed market potential in the COMESA region is estimated at 2 million MT of quality and improved seed, yet current production and access remain below 500,000 MT. There’s a huge opportunity for growth! 
To activate this, we have partnered with stakeholders across the COMESA seed industry to drive regional collaboration and advance the COMESA Seed Harmonization Implementation Plan (COMSHIP). Our Regional COMSHIP Meeting held in Nairobi, Kenya, at the Jacaranda Hotel on 20th-21st May 2025 brought together key players committed to transforming the seed sector.
Highlights from the meeting include:
Insights from Dr. Kipronoh Ronoh, Principal Secretary of Kenya’s State Department for Agriculture, emphasizing the importance of quality seed in boosting productivity, resilience, and food security. Calls from industry leaders like Dr. John Mukuka, CEO of the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa, to adopt modern seed production techniques, embrace biotechnology, and strengthen regulatory frameworks. Remarks from Mshuka Kamwela, European Development Fund Programme Manager, highlighting this gathering as a milestone in ACTESA’s efforts to enhance seed trade and agricultural transformation.Supported by the COMESA Regional Enterprise Competitiveness and Access to Markets Programme (RECAMP) and funded by the European Union under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF 11), this meeting marks a key step in sensitizing stakeholders about COMSHIP.
Since its inception, COMSHIP has facilitated the gazetting of seed trade harmonization regulations in 10 COMESA Member States, including Burundi, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Malawi, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
