This brief summarizes the key findings of The African Seed Access Index (TASAI) study appraising the structure and economic performance of Rwanda’s seed sector in 2017. TASAI’s standard approach is to focus on four grain and legume crops important to food security in each target country, in order to evaluate the enabling environment needed to create a vibrant formal seed sector. In the case of Rwanda, the four crops — maize, bean, wheat, and soyabean — also form part of the Rwandan government’s Crop Intensification Program. In season A in 2018, these four crops accounted for 57% of the cultivated agricultural area in Rwanda (National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda, 2018). At the request of industry stakeholders in Rwanda, however, the study was expanded to include two vegetatively propagated crops – cassava and sweet potato – with a focus on their nutrition‐enhanced characteristics. It is important to note that, while included in the study, not all TASAI indicators are applicable to these crops, which are vegetatively rather than seed‐propagated. As such, the findings discussed in this brief in general apply to the four main focus crops; when the findings concern the vegetatively propagated crops, this will be indicated.
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