Incorporating the local context – like environmental and cultural conditions in the regions and local languages – is essential when designing training manuals. This ensures accessibility and relevance of training content and alignment with the realities of the target audience’s environment. To ensure the sustainability and widespread adoption of the training materials, they need to be closely aligned with the needs and priorities of local institutions. 

 

During the implementation of this approach, collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture was undertaken to train farmers who were members of partner groups to approve their seed establishments. Under the new certification system, the approval of a seed establishment can be carried out in parallel with seed certification. The standards applied in this system differ from those used in conventional seed production. The training course aims to clarify these differences and highlight the advantages of the new production framework. It takes place over four consecutive days, with three days of classroom sessions and half a day devoted to practical work in the field. Training is provided exclusively by specialists and qualified technicians. The main objective is to train farmers in all aspects of seed production, control, certification and marketing. The practical training was carried out on the premises of a farmer benefiting from the program. Participants were shown a simulation of the principle of field controls.

Any new variety can only be marketed if it is registered in the official catalog or in the register of seeds of declared quality. To obtain this registration, the variety must satisfy the criteria of two types of official test: Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) for all species, and VATE (Agronomic, Technological and Environmental Value) for agricultural species. DUS verifies that the variety is distinct from varieties of common knowledge, uniform and stable, i.e. that it retains its phenotypic characteristics from generation to generation. VATE provides essential information on the variety's agronomic and qualitative characteristics.

In order to register a local, traditional or farmer's variety in the SQD Boeny Register, several steps must be followed according to the variety registration manual. The Register of species and varieties used in the SQD system contains the list of seeds and seedlings of varieties that can be produced under the certification system in the Boeny region and marketed on regional territory and, if authorized by the SOC, on national territory.

Seed production standards in SQD certification are one of the special features of the system, and the main reason for its introduction. In fact, SQD standards are more flexible and take concrete account of the local context in which the seed is produced. In the case of the Boeny region, the basic standards adopted for the production of SQD-certified seed mainly concern :

• Cultivation rules: origin of the mother seed; spatial isolation of the cultivation field from any undesirable pollen; crop precedent; possible crop association; phytosanitary status of plants in seed multiplication fields.
• Field controls: the number of field controls must be carried out during the period of the cropping calendar when the distinctive characteristics of the varieties are easiest to notice; spatial isolation of the crop field; temporal isolation by a shift in flowering days if spatial isolation is not possible; varietal purity, i.e. the homogeneity of varietal characteristics of crops in the field.
• Technological standards verified in the laboratory to ensure seed quality: maximum seed water content; specific purity; varietal purity; germination rate; number of generations.
• Batch controls in storage warehouses and the maximum quantity of a batch of seed.

The Cooperative provides loans among members to support new income-generating ideas and emergency needs. This internal support system fosters solidarity and economic innovation within the community.

With the added income, many farmers have invested in other small businesses, such as dairy and poultry. This economic resilience reduces reliance on unsustainable practices and improves overall wellbeing.

Support from USAID’s PERFORM project helped scale up the partnership between KHP and the Cooperative. The funding strengthened the business model and increased long-term sustainability and impact.

The informal farmer group was formally registered as the Lucheche Cooperative and trained to manage its operations. This empowered the community to organize effectively and take charge of their development.

Farmers prune their trees and sell the leaf biomass to KHP for essential oil extraction, creating a sustainable and regular income stream. This reduces the need for environmentally harmful activities like illegal charcoal burning.

Kawandama Hills partnered with local farmers to plant Corymbia citriodora trees on their own farmland, encouraging sustainable land use and reforestation. This model protects the environment while giving communities ownership of the process.