AGRA launches Africa Digital Crop Variety Catalogue to revolutionize access to improved seeds
The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has unveiled its groundbreaking Africa Digital Crop Variety Catalogue, marking a significant milestone for seed systems across the continent.
Developed in collaboration with Agriculture Ministries, National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), and regulatory bodies in Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, the platform is the first comprehensive, interactive, and searchable digital database showcasing officially released crop varieties.
AGRA’s two-decade-long journey in strengthening seed systems has led to the release of 688 improved crop varieties and the nurturing of 114 African seed companies. The nonprofit has also trained approximately 38,000 agro-dealers, enhancing access to improved seed for 33 million farmers.
Jonathan Said, AGRA’s Vice President for Technical Expertise, emphasized that the digital catalogue will strengthen seed markets and scale distribution of high-yielding, nutrient-dense seeds to smallholder farmers. Hosted by AGRA’s Centre of Excellence for Seed Systems in Africa (CESSA), the platform offers seed-sector stakeholders a robust suite of digital tools, training, and analytics to facilitate fair access to quality seeds.
Addressing fragmented seed data
Prior to this innovation, African seed systems suffered from fragmented, outdated, and inaccessible national crop variety lists. Such information gaps hindered efforts in compliance, quality assurance, and private investment in seed development.
Alice Ruhweza, AGRA’s President, remarked, “Vital data on crop varieties is incomplete, inaccessible, or absent altogether… This has hindered farmers from accessing resilient, climate-smart, and nutrient-dense crop varieties.” The digital catalogue, she noted, remedies this by providing a centralized and transparent resource for policymakers, seed developers, and farmers.
Data‑driven agricultural transformation
Built on insights from AGRA’s Seed Systems Assessment Tool (SeedSAT), the Seed System Performance Index (now adopted by the African Union), and AGRA’s Seed Investment Plan, the catalogue brings a data-driven approach to seed systems reform.
Dr. Jane Ininda, Interim Director of CESSA, hailed the platform as “not just a digital catalogue, but a game‑changer for seed‑sector transparency, equity, and growth.” She pointed out how consolidating variety data enhances investment strategies, research planning, and the livelihoods of farmers.
The platform also holds promise for women and youth, who have historically been marginalized due to lack of access to seed information and market entry points.
Building a living resource
With its public launch, AGRA is calling on governments, seed enterprises, researchers, and development partners to adopt the catalogue and continuously update it—ensuring it remains a living tool underpinning Africa’s agricultural resilience.
The Africa Digital Crop Variety Catalogue ushers in a new era in seed systems: offering updated, searchable listings of released crop varieties, tailored filters by country, crop, and ecological zone, and detailed metadata supporting commercialisation and selection.
By bridging data gaps, this continental platform – anchored in CESSA’s digital ecosystem – promises to transform seed accessibility, strengthen regulatory harmonization, and help farmers make smarter, climate‑informed decisions.