The growing popularity of seedless fruit is transforming consumer preferences, but it is also raising important questions about who controls planting material and how African smallholder farmers access the means of production. Unlike conventional seed-based crops, many seedless fruit varieties are propagated through cuttings, grafting or tissue culture. Farmers therefore cannot simply save seeds from ...

Thomas Cristofoletti/USAID. ANALYSIS By Million Belay The Dakar II approach to agriculture – with a focus on corporate hybrid seed systems, hi-tech solutions, imported inputs, GMOs, and large-scale monocropping – risks overlooking Africa’s rich diversity of needs, cultures, and ecosystems. The one-size-fits-all Dakar II plan risks sacrificing biodiversity and smallholders for the sake of private interests. ...