seed systems Archives - Resilient Landscapes (RL)

Review: Improving the enabling environment to strengthen Kenya’s tree seed and seedling systems

Key Recommendations

Define and regulate tree seed quality by explicitly incorporating genetic, physical and physiological quality and climate adaptation to planting environments, recognizing that tree seed quality cannot be regulated in the same way as crop seed.
Formally define and register all tree seed sources, including natural vegetation, farmland, plantations, and seed orchards, using source-specific guidelines that ensure genetic quality.
Strengthen the use and conservation of native tree species by identifying and protecting seed sources for native species, and supporting incentives that encourage landowners, nurseries, and restoration projects to plant and use native trees.
Develop clearer and more appropriate rules for different tree species and planting purposes by reviewing and adapting regulations to better distinguish between native and exotic species, and between trees grown for commercial forestry and those planted for environmental restoration or ecosystem services.
Establish an inclusive certification and registration pathway by introducing an affordable Quality Declared Seed system for tree seed, allowing small-scale tree seed collectors to gradually enter the formal system while adhering to quality standards.
Clarify and align institutional roles and responsibilities, with Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service as the certifying authority, Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) providing scientific research, technical leadership, training and seed source approval, and Kenya Forest Service (KFS) integrating seed source management into forest governance.
Recognize and operationalize seed source custodians including communities and Community Forest Associations to manage, protect and benefit from documented seed sources, supported through collaboration between KEFRI and KFS.
Improve tree planting and forest management outcomes by developing species-specific planting zones and site-matching guidelines, and by registering nurseries to strengthen links between seed supply, seedling production and planting demand.
Invest in sector-wide information and communication systems that connect seed collectors, nurseries and tree planters; disseminate seed source and planting zone information; and support informed participation across the seed–seedling–planting continuum.
Right tree, right place, right purpose: Increase knowledge and capacity building to ensure that quality tree seed is planted in the right place for the right purpose for improved livelihoods and climate resilient ecological restoration.

Review: Improving the enabling environment to strengthen Rwanda’s tree seed and seedling systems

Key Recommendations

Update and implement the Forestry Reproductive Materials Guidelines (MoE 2018) and the Tree Reproductive Materials Strategy (MINILAF 2018) to improve identification, documentation, and protection of native tree seed sources.
Expand and identify a national network of certified tree seed sources managed by recognized seed source custodians.
Strengthen access to and use of native tree species by conducting phenology studies and streamlining permit processes in protected areas for tree seed collectors.
Develop and widely disseminate species-specific seed zoning and planting maps to guide all tree planting decisions.
Introduce and enforce national nursery standards requiring full traceability of seed origin throughout seedling production.
Ensure farmers and extension agents have clear, accessible agroforestry guidance tailored to local conditions and agency mandates.
Shift the National Tree Seed Centre (NTSC) from sole tree seed production toward a regulatory and supportive role while expanding trained tree seed cooperatives and NTSC sub-centres.
Clarify and communicate the roles and responsibilities of all actors, formally recognizing seed source custodians within the delivery system.

Sectoral assessment summary: Advancing an effective tree seed and seedling system in Kenya

This sectoral assessment provides a baseline analysis of Kenya’s tree seed and seedling systems, with a focus on how seed systems can better support FLR and agroforestry that takes into account ecological principles, first and foremost by basing species choice on the map of potential natural vegetation of Kenya, when restoring natural vegetation. This brief identifies structural constraints, highlights the essential role of decentralized actors, and outlines practical recommendations to strengthen coordination, genetic quality and effectiveness across Kenya’s tree seed and seedling systems.

Empowering farmers, informing breeders: lessons from large-scale farmer-managed maize trials in Eastern Zambia

Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa grow maize under highly variable agro-ecological and socio-economic conditions, calling for breeding programmes that better address farmers’ conditions and needs. This study characterized farmers’ crop management practices and investigated genotype × environment (G × E) interaction patterns for maize yield in Eastern Zambia to guide the breeding strategy in this region. A participatory large-scale variety testing approach, comprising 980 mother and baby trials (MBTs) conducted under farmers’ own management practices, was implemented over the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Characterization of the MBT contexts revealed that adaptation to low nitrogen and delayed fertilization should be considered in the breeding strategy. In addition, delayed weedings explained a large proportion of genotype × farmer (G × F) interactions in both MT seasons, indicating that adaptation to weed pressure should deserve greater attention in breeding. These adaptation traits are particularly important for women, who provide most weeding labour and often have limited access to soil fertility resources. Non-repeatable G × F interactions across years, together with genotypic variance exceeding G × E interaction variance estimates, indicated that multi-year testing across MTs can identify superior and stable genotypes. At the same time, indications of specific adaptation to certain management conditions suggest potential for context-specific variety recommendations. This could offer a competitive advantage in Zambia’s maize seed market, where variety choice and information remain limited. Overall, decentralized farmer-managed testing underlined the importance of yield stability and generated reliable information on variety adaptation, while strengthening farmers’ capacity to make informed variety choices.

Choosing between native and introduced tree species when planting

Key messages

Both native and introduced tree species are important for planting, but the choice of which category to plant depends on the desired products and ecosystem services, the location and the planters themselves.
Global planting initiatives are making an increased effort to include a wider range of native trees. This is to counter the current focus on a narrow species base, which leaves planted trees susceptible to system shocks and may impact the supply of tree products and services, and reflects a greater focus on tree planting for ecological restoration.
This brief presents pros and cons for planting native and introduced tree species, and explores bottlenecks in the use of native trees for planting.
Important measures to address these bottlenecks include making high-quality seeds and seedlings more available for planting, as well as developing and sharing decision-support tools to better target planting, improve tree management and ensure more effective use.

National Agroecology Strategy for Food System Transformation in Ethiopia (2026–2040)

Agriculture is Ethiopia’s primary livelihood source, contributing one-third of GDP and employing over 80% of the population. Yet the sector faces climate change, pest outbreaks, soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and persistent food insecurity. Agroecology—an integrated approach optimizing interactions between plants, animals, humans, and the environment—offers a pathway to resilience and sustainability.
The National Agroecology Strategy (NAES) 2026–2040 provides a coherent framework to scale agroecological practices nationwide. Developed through inclusive consultations led by the Ministry of Agriculture, NAES aligns with Ethiopia’s National Agroforestry Development Strategy, constitutional commitments to the Right to Development and Right to Adequate Food, and the paradigm shift outlined in the 2024 Agricultural and Rural Development Policy.
Strategic objectives include advancing sustainable farming technologies, integrated pest management, soil health, climate adaptation, strengthening seed systems, promoting local breeds, crop-livestock integration, and eco-friendly mechanization. NAES positions agroecology as central to food system transformation, ecosystem restoration, and climate resilience.

Supporting healthy environments and livelihoods in the Congo-Nile Ridge landscape of Rwanda. Synthesis report

Rwanda’s landscape restoration commitments, aligned with an overall supportive national policy framework, provide an important opportunity to intervene to better manage the nation’s forests and other lands. As well as supporting the environment, this alignment provides significant opportunities to benefit Rwanda’s people. At present, however, landscape management as practiced in Rwanda is often unsustainable, damaging the environment and negatively affecting local communities. The purpose of the present study was to guide investment opportunities for sustainable landscape management and enhanced livelihoods in the Congo-Nile Ridge landscape and surrounding region of western Rwanda. The current report is based on a number of technical studies undertaken in 2023 and 2024 in support of this objective. In total, 24 key recommendations that support healthy environments and livelihoods in Rwanda are provided.

The first five recommendations are in support of an efficient tree seed and seedling delivery sub-sector for improving planting material used in forest management and restoration. The next four recommendations are in support of well-managed public forests through the better operationalization of the management of forest landscapes, especially for the Congo-Nile Ridge landscape and its surroundings. The next eight recommendations are in support of well-managed biodiversity and sustainable tourism, through the putting in place of more supportive plans for enhancing biodiversity and livelihoods, especially for the islands of Lake Kivu and for Gishwati-Mukura National Park in western Rwanda, which were focus areas of attention in the current study. The final set of seven recommendations relate to developing stronger incentive mechanisms for supporting trees, forests, biodiversity, sustainable tourism and improved landscape management overall.

Considering landscape management broadly in the Congo-Nile Ridge region, the incentives applied to improve management and support livelihoods should place emphasis on wide community and local business participation in managing a wide range of native plant and animal species and habitats, through both species-level and ecosystem approaches. A diverse set of native species should be targeted for biodiversity monitoring and management, and a broad range of native trees should be included in planting and value chain development programmes.

Supplementary documents:

Global strategy: Transformative Partnership Platform for quality tree seed and seedling delivery systems (Quality Tree Seed TPP)

Achieving tree planting targets in support of restoration and other tree planting goals requires effective tree seed and seedling delivery systems that provide high-quality planting materials, but current systems are suboptimal. This issue has gained prominence on the restoration agenda, with substantial investments being made to address current delivery bottlenecks.

Building on decades of research and practical experience in tree-planting interventions, and on extensive partner networks, the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) is leading the development of a Transformative Partnership Platform for quality tree seed and seedling delivery systems (Quality Tree Seed TPP).

This global strategy outlines the Quality Tree Seed TPP’s main objectives, scope, governance, and activities, plus related projects and a glossary of relevant terms. During the initial phase, the Quality Tree Seed TPP will be mainly supported by the Right Tree in the Right Place for the Right Purpose project (RTRP-Seed), funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German government. This project has at its heart the goal of addressing tree seed and seedling delivery bottlenecks for planting native tree species in African countries and is implemented CIFOR-ICRAF, Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) and Unique Land Use.

Supporting better forest landscape restoration by making investor funding for tree planting conditional on an adequate explanation of how tree seeds and seedlings will be sourced

Massive public and private investments in tree planting are being made in attempts to sequester carbon, support human livelihoods and conserve biodiversity. As the above quote attests, however, tree planting is often done poorly. From a social perspective, the requirements of the different institutions and actors involved, including especially the needs of local communities, are not always properly considered.

Stay ahead of the curve