Digital technologies are opening new opportunities to strengthen Africa's seed systems, giving farmers better access to quality seed while improving food security, agricultural productivity and resilience to climate change, experts said during a high-level webinar organized by the FAO Regional Office for Africa.

The webinar, Leveraging Digital Solutions for Strengthening the Seed Systems in Africa, brought together policymakers, researchers, development partners, financial institutions and seed sector practitioners to explore how digital innovation can modernize seed certification, improve traceability and quality assurance, and support informed decision-making across the seed value chain.

It was organized in the framework of FAO project “Leveraging Digital Systems for Emergency Preparedness and Response to Food Crises” (EmergenSys), implemented in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and South Sudan, and formed part of the FAO Regional Office for Africa’s periodic knowledge-sharing exchanges on digital agriculture. It also contributed to ongoing preparations for the Digitalization Thematic Area of the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) 2026.

Many farmers still struggle to access certified, climate-resilient seed. According to FAO, quality seed combined with good agricultural practices can increase crop yields by up to 30 percent, making stronger seed systems critical to transforming Africa's agrifood systems.

Opening the webinar, Priya Gujadhur, Senior Regional Resillience Officer at FAO's Regional Office for Africa, said digital technologies are helping build more efficient, transparent and inclusive seed systems that better serve farmers.

"Digitalization is not simply about adopting new technologies," she said. "It is about building seed systems that better serve farmers while improving transparency, efficiency and access."

Building connected seed systems

Delivering the keynote address, FAO Deputy Regional Representative for Africa, Meshack Malo, emphasized that quality seed remains the foundation of agricultural transformation and food security.

He noted that while many African countries have made progress in strengthening their seed sectors, challenges such as fragmented certification systems, limited market information, climate risks and restricted access to quality seed continue to constrain agricultural productivity.

"Seeds are at the core of agricultural transformation," Malo said, calling for integrated digital ecosystems that connect farmers, researchers, seed producers, regulators and markets to improve efficiency and expand access to quality seed across the continent.

Jeffrey Kwesiga, Principal Agricultural Economist at the African Development Bank, founder of the EmergenSys project, highlighted the growing role of digital technologies in improving seed certification, demand forecasting and regional seed trade. He noted that stronger seed systems are fundamental to food security and resilient agriculture.

From innovation to impact

The webinar featured how the EmergenSys has been strengthening digital seed systems in Somalia, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, through capacity building and the development of digital seed platforms in partnership with partners such as the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. Government officials presented experiences from the digital seed certification system managed by the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), Ethiopia’s Ethio-Seed digital platform, and Uganda’s e-Phyto implementation. They illustrated how digital tools are being used to improve seed inspection, certification, traceability, variety registration and information sharing and how this has modernized and increased the performance of seed system management.

Speakers advised that modular and phased deployment should be adopted for developing digital seed systems which must be considered as public goods supporting activities including agriculture trade, early warning and emergency response. They also advised that regulations had to be reviewed to accommodate electronic certification and that technology must be supported by enabling policies, institutional capacity and strong partnerships to deliver lasting impact.

Interactive polls conducted during the webinar confirmed that seed system digitalization remains uneven across countries, with many participants describing progress as still limited, emerging or moderate. Participants identified seed certification, inspection and quality control as among the functions most commonly digitalized, while priority areas for further investment included seed information management systems, digital certification and traceability, institutional and user capacities, and interoperability between platforms.

While progress differs across countries and challenges remain, participants agreed that greater investment in digital infrastructure, harmonized regulations and interoperable systems will be essential to scaling innovation across Africa

Closing the webinar, Gujadhur reaffirmed FAO's commitment to supporting Member Nations through technical assistance, innovation and knowledge sharing to strengthen national seed systems and accelerate agrifood systems transformation across the continent.

More than 200 participants from across Africa and beyond joined the 90-minute dialogue.

As Africa continues to embrace digital agriculture, the webinar reinforced a common message: stronger seed systems will depend not only on innovative technologies, but also on coordinated action that ensures every farmer can access the quality seed needed to produce more food, more sustainably.