AVISA

CYMMYT: AVISA Kenya and Tanzania

The Accelerated Varietal Improvement and Seed Delivery of Legumes and Cereals in Africa (AVISA) transition phase is funded by the International Maize and Wheat and Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and implemented in Southern Tanzania and Western Kenya. The project aims to improve access to quality seed of improved varieties that are profitable to produce and desired by the markets. It seeks to increase the engagement and support for women and youth seed enterprises to respond to the grain demand with a focus on quality and quantity produce. A gender-intentional behaviour change, seed demand, and supply responsive model known as the Youth and Women Quality Centres (YWQC) successfully piloted in Tanzania is being customized and implemented for the Kenyan context in Busia in the finger millet value chain. To achieve gender equity, the project is intentionally mainstreaming the participation of women smallholder farmers and women seed entrepreneurs across all the initiatives to ensure equal access to technologies and capacity development. For social inclusion, the youth will play a significant role across the different nodes of the value chain.

Category: Agriculture

Client: CIMMYT

Value Chain: Sorghum, groundnuts and finger millet

Duration: Aug 2023 to Dec 2024

Location: Songwe Region, Tanzania, and Busia, Kenya.