AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa) today announced the groundbreaking launch of the Africa Digital Crop Variety Catalogue, a transformative digital platform poised to revolutionize access to improved seeds across the continent.
Developed in close partnership with Ministries of Agriculture, National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), and National Regulatory Authorities, this innovative catalogue provides the first comprehensive, interactive, and searchable database of officially released crop varieties for an initial cohort of six countries: Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.
For two decades, AGRA has been at the forefront of strengthening Africa’s seed systems, fostering robust seed businesses and advocating for policies that enable their advancement. AGRA’s profound impact is evident in the release of 688 new crop varieties and the strengthening of 114 African seed companies. This extensive work, coupled with the empowerment of 38,000 Agro dealers, has facilitated access to high-yielding seeds for an astounding 33 million farmers.
“The digital seed catalogue is an important milestone to strengthen the seed market and therefore further scale high yielding and nutrient dense seed access by smallholder farmers,” remarked Jonathan Said, Vice President, Centre for Technical Expertise, AGRA.
The landmark innovation was meticulously developed through CESSA – the Centre of Excellence for Seed Systems in Africa, AGRA’s dedicated platform for advancing seed systems continent-wide. CESSA offers an integrated suite of tools, training, data, analysis, and digital solutions, all geared towards ensuring equitable access to high-quality seeds for farmers.
The digital catalogue directly addresses long-standing challenges in seed system development, particularly the fragmentation, outdatedness, and limited accessibility of national crop variety lists. Despite hundreds of improved crop varieties being developed and released across Africa over the past decade, no single, up-to-date platform existed where governments, National Agricultural Research Institutes, seed companies, and other stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations and farmer organizations, could access comprehensive information on available varieties.
“In many African countries, vital data on crop varieties is incomplete, inaccessible, or absent altogether,” stated Alice Ruhweza, President of AGRA. “This has historically hindered farmers from accessing resilient, climate-smart, and nutrient-dense crop varieties. The Africa Digital Crop Variety Catalogue fills this critical gap by offering a centralized and transparent digital resource.”
Anchored by findings from AGRA’s Seed Systems Assessment Tool (SeedSAT), the Seed Investment Plans, and the report of the Seed System Performance Index (SSPI)—now adopted by the African Union as a continental benchmark—the new platform epitomizes AGRA’s unwavering commitment to actionable, data-driven reforms in Africa’s agricultural transformation. The digital catalogue represents a pivotal milestone in implementing the recommendations of the Seed Investment Plan, a blueprint for advancing seed systems across Africa.
The previous absence of such a centralized platform significantly hampered compliance, seed quality and certification processes, and crucial investments in seed systems, resulting in consistently low adoption rates and a substantial “seed gap.” Furthermore, this information vacuum disproportionately affects women and young people, who often lack the networks and resources to access vital knowledge and business opportunities within seed systems.
“This platform is not just a digital catalogue – it is a game-changer for seed sector transparency, equity, and growth,” affirmed Dr. Jane Ininda, Interim Director, CESSA at AGRA. “By consolidating variety data from across the continent, we’re enabling smarter investment, research prioritization, and ultimately, improved livelihoods for farmers.”
With this groundbreaking launch, AGRA issues a resounding call to action for governments, seed companies, researchers, and development partners to actively adopt and contribute to the Africa Digital Crop Variety Catalogue. The aim is to transform it into a dynamic, living tool for Africa’s agricultural resilience and prosperity.
The catalogue promises to significantly enhance agriculture and seed systems by providing a continually updated, comprehensive list of officially released crop varieties from multiple countries. Its intuitive, searchable, and user-friendly interface will serve breeders, regulators, seed companies, and policymakers, enabling rapid access to detailed data that supports commercialization and informed decision-making in variety choices, seed production, selection, and marketing.
Beyond its technical utility, the platform actively promotes inclusivity by engaging both local and national seed stakeholders, strengthening grassroots participation. It also advances gender equity and youth inclusion by substantially improving access to vital agricultural information for previously underserved groups, directly addressing past challenges in compliance and certification. AGRA’s vision is for this digital catalogue to become an indispensable, living tool, continuously evolving to foster agricultural resilience and prosperity across Africa.
