Value Seeds

Access to seeds for smallholder farmers
Value Seeds’ access to seeds strategy is centred around its marketing and sales target of reaching 10 million farmers by 2035. The company’s strategy includes defined objectives for research and development, seed production, marketing and sales and capacity building. For example, it has introduced “Value Kiosks” to service remote areas and established partnerships for information and communication technology (ICT) programmes. The company reviews its objectives monthly as well as annually.

Plant breeding activities in index countries and breeding programme for specific traits
Value Seeds has its own breeding programme in Nigeria and develops improved varieties of maize suitable for smallholder farmers in the index region. The company has a “maize improvement programme” through which it develops traits that are particularly important for smallholder farmers, such as those catered to local tastes and cultural preferences as well as early maturing varieties. The company also focuses on incorporating resistance/tolerance to regionally important pests and diseases, such as fall army worm (FAW) and maize streak virus (MSV).

Developing improved varieties of global crops and variety testing
The company collaborates with public research institutes in Nigeria on the research and development of varieties of global field crops, such as maize and rice, and this includes variety testing. In addition, the company conducts variety trials on its own varieties as well as those developed by other research institutes such as the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

Distribution channels
Value Seeds has distribution channels in Nigeria, where it services remote areas through “Value Kiosks”, which are “last-mile kiosks” stocked with agricultural inputs in remote areas, through using road bikes to reach remote areas, and by selling both through agro-dealers and directly to farmers.

Demonstration and promotion strategies
Value Seeds has demonstration and promotion activities in Nigeria, including radio advertisements in local languages, social media campaigns, promotions at agricultural exhibition shows and field days in remote areas. The company specifically targets women smallholder farmers through local women’s groups.

Other agricultural inputs
The company makes other agricultural inputs available, including various chemicals provided in kits designed with seed and other input package sizes that meet the needs of smallholder farmers. Within the product kits, the company includes a production guide with instructions on how to sustainably use the chemical inputs.

Extension services
Value Seeds supports farmers with training on best agronomic practices, improving access to contemporary agricultural technologies, improving access to markets and providing input support through its field-to-market agricultural initiative. The company interacts with farmers both directly and through partners and has supported more than 380,000 farmers in targeted interventions since 2016.

Programmes for women farmers
Value Seeds has implemented a number of programmes that focus specifically on building up women smallholder farmers, both directly and through partnerships. One such programme was in collaboration with Partnership to Engage Reform and Learn (PERL) on a women agricultural support programme in Nigeria that supplied 5,000 maize value kit to women through quality extension services. The programme reached 50,000 women smallholder farmers between 2019 and 2020. The company is further working with the Mastercard Foundation for food and job creation to provide 10,000 women and youths with inputs, financial inclusion, links to markets, information on weather and markets, and job creation.

Information and communications technology (ICT)
The company has programmes that build the capacity of smallholder farmers by providing information on product prices, farming practices and weather information suitable for their mobile devices. This initiative is quite recent, and it aims to provide this information and advance the use of ICT on a weekly basis to 10,000 smallholders across the country.

Governance and accountability
Value Seeds’ highest governance body, its board of directors, oversees the company’s access to seeds strategy and goals. While such oversight is a strong practice, the company has an opportunity to further strengthen accountability by linking its highest governance body’s remuneration policy to its access to seeds strategy.

Stakeholder engagement
The company undertakes stakeholder engagement activities with organisations such as Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the Kano Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture. In a project with AGRA, Value Seeds is addressing the issue of low yields in rice, maize and soya bean production in Nigeria. While the company integrates the outcomes of its stakeholder engagement activities into its access to seeds strategy, it could disclose information on how it identifies its most relevant stakeholders.

The company provides limited insight into its position and activities related to genetic resources and intellectual property management. As it is important that seed companies contribute to genetic resources and intellectual property management that supports smallholder agriculture, the company could provide more insights into its activities for others to learn from.

Local participation in breeding/variety development
The company could disclose more information on how it uses feedback from local consumers, traders and smallholder farmers to inform its breeding programme, including how it incorporates feedback from women farmers.

Seed production activities in index region
The company has production fields in Nigeria, where it involves local agricultural companies, farmer organisations, intermediaries and local farmers. It has the opportunity to improve its performance in this area by extending its seed production to other countries in the region.

Engaging smallholder farmers in seed production
The company involves smallholder farmers in its seed production activities and discloses it offers them formal contracts which provide arrangements on product prices. However, they have the opportunity to improve their score by providing examples of the contracts offered and evidence on how arrangements on product prices favourable to smallholders are provided in these.

Quality management in seed production in index countries
Value Seeds has officers who monitor its fields on a weekly basis and ensure that farmers are adhering to the standards of the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) guidelines. The NASC also carries out field inspections and lab quality control tests to ensure seeds meet minimum quality requirements. The company could improve its score in this area by ensuring that all of its seed production is covered by an external quality management system.

Social and labour rights in seed production
The company has standards in place for child labour and forced labour and carries out routine checks in direct production and contract grower managed fields to ensure children are not exploited in field operations. However, they have the opportunity to disclose how they monitor compliance in accordance with their forced labour and health and safety standards, and disclose how they ensure workers in its seed production activities are paid a living wage.

Diverse portfolio
As it offers only a few varieties for the majority of crops in its portfolio in Nigeria, Value Seeds can diversify its portfolio by offering more varieties per crop. Additionally, although the company offers both open-pollinated varieties (OPVs) and hybrids, it can expand its offering of both types of varieties for more crops in its portfolio.

Maize
Rice
Vegetables

Cowpea
Maize
Millets
Rice, paddy
Sorghum
Soya bean

Cabbage
Cucumber
Lettuce
Okra
Onion
Pepper (hot)
Pepper (sweet)
Tomato
Watermelon

Download the portfolios of all companies in the 2021 index for Western and Central Africa here.