This Working Paper examines the seed sector in developing countries against a background of programmes of structural reform initiated to correct the severe macro-economic imbalances that developed during the 1970s and 1980s.

The overall aim of the project, of which this paper is the first product, is to advance understanding of the structure and performance of the seed sector in developing countries - and in Eastern and Southern Africa in particular - with respect to the desirable relative roles of different types of organisations in meeting the seed needs of small farmers.