This book presents the results of a study of the seed activities of 18 NGOs and other development agencies in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The potential and quality of seed is extremely important in the complex, diverse and risky areas of the developing world where where is little access to other techniques and technologies to increase agricultural productivity. Much development attention is now focused on these communities, particularly by NGOs.

A number of NGOs have already become involved in seed activities. However, the experiences gained from these initiatives have not yet been analysed collectively. It is to fill this gap that this book has been written: to find out whether this approach can create a new people-centred seed strategy for supporting local seed systems outside the high potential agricultural areas of the developing world.