Policy Activity Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Bangladesh Seed Association
Signing of MoU between BSA (Mr. A.H.M Humayun Kabir, General Secretary) and Policy Activity (Mr. Faheem Khan, Country Lead), Sep 19, 2022. Pictured in the center is Mr. M. Anis Ud Dowla, President, BSA and Chairman, ACI Group.
The Feed the Future Bangladesh Agricultural Policy Activity, part of the global Policy LINK program, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bangladesh Seed Association (BSA), the country’s leading coalition of private sector actors in the seed sector. With a strong regional presence throughout Bangladesh and deep technical expertise in seed policy issues, including barriers to private sector engagement, the BSA is partnering with Policy LINK’s Bangladesh team to find ways to strengthen seed policies and systems.
The seed sector is one of four pillars anchoring Policy LINK’s work in Bangladesh, which aims to improve policy formulation, analysis, advocacy, reform, and implementation. Strengthening the capacity of agricultural actors and institutions like BSA to press for policy change is a key pillar of the Bangladesh Policy Activity. By engaging a wide range of stakeholders, the team is working to ensure more inclusive policy formulation and implementation, including in the seed sector.
Why Seed Matters
For generations, farmers across Bangladesh were known to uphold a rich tradition of seed saving and exchanging practices. They used to be the gatekeepers—responsible for producing and preserving various indigenous crop varieties. As the market landscape changed over time, many of these “informal seed systems” have been gradually overshadowed by an increased influx of privately produced and imported seeds. Researchers estimate that more than 90 percent of vegetable and rice seeds in Bangladesh are produced and supplied through private channels.
With many of the country’s regions facing severe threats from climate change, the Policy Activity’s work in the seed and other sectors has taken on added urgency. Experts estimate that, in just the last 35 years, climate change-induced salinization of soil and water increased by an estimated 26 percent across Bangladesh, adversely affecting the production of various crops—both around coastal areas and deeper inland.
Responding to this, the Policy Activity has helped elevate the voices of public- and private-sector stakeholders in the national conversation around seed policy. To date, the team has organized workshops that brought together dozens of local representatives in Khulna, the country’s third-largest region; Cox’s Bazar, the southeastern coastal district hosting a displaced Rohingya population; and Bandarban, the hilly southeastern district that makes up one-third of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. These consultations were followed by a national seed policy conference held in Dhaka last November.
Experts estimate that, in just the last 35 years, climate change-induced salinization of soil and water increased by an estimated 26 percent across Bangladesh.
The BSA partnership aligns with USAID’s commitment to localization, strengthening existing organizations and leaders with an eye to sustaining the development agency’s investments. Similar MoU’s are in the works for the Policy Activity’s other pillar areas—social safety nets, food safety, and nutrition.
The purpose of the Feed the Future Bangladesh Policy LINK Agricultural Policy Activity is to strengthen the capacities of Bangladesh’s key agricultural actors and institutions, improve the policy environment and cultivate the policy-making processes that will enable inclusive and sustainable agriculture-led economic growth, strengthen resilience among people and systems, and create a well-nourished population, especially women and children.