Côte d’Ivoire

Seed sector in Cote d'Ivoire

In 1984, Côte d’Ivoire’s government created the Office of Seeds and Plants within the framework of the National Seed Plan of 1984–1990. Prior to 1984, food crops were not subject to special seed programs, and the state-run Agricultural Projects Technical Bureau managed seed-producing farms. By 2013, a national plant varieties catalog and the Comité National des Semences et Plants 12 were established to promote, guide and monitor agricultural production activities, as well as control and market agricultural plant seed species.

In Côte d’Ivoire, there is limited private sector activity specializing in producing, packaging and marketing certified seeds. In the production and dissemination of basic seeds, the public agency Centre National de Recherches Agronomiques (CNRA) plays an important role, while the Office National de Développement de la Riziculture plays a similar role in the supply of rice seeds.

The legal basis for cooperatives was established in the 1970s, and further formalization came with the 1997 OHADA Act on Cooperatives that introduced governance conditions and an audit system. In 2017, there were 3,867 formally recognized agriculture cooperatives, of which 77% produce coffee and cocoa. Only 6% produce staple crops such as rice, maize and cassava.

Observations

There are 17 index companies in Côte d’Ivoire, but only three accompany their sales activities with extension services. BILOHF is the only index company producing seeds in Côte d’Ivoire, but it does not involve smallholders in these activities.

BILOHF is the only seed company from Côte d’Ivoire with a regional presence, and it was selected for the index for that reason. As with other national seed companies and seed-producing cooperatives, it does not have its own breeding activities but works with the CNRA to test and select new varieties.