SEED SECTOR DEVELOPMENT: A WEAK LINK IN CARIBBEAN AGRICULTURE

Improved seed is a fundamental input in the transfer of crop production technologies to, and their efficient utilisation by farmers. Full exploitation by developing countries of the results from crop research is possible only when there exists, among other things, effective seed supply mechanisms that are responsive to farmers' needs for adequate, timely and affordable supplies of quality seed of improved varieties. In many Caribbean countries these mechanisms are still underdeveloped despite significant investment of resources, both national and in the form of assistance from bilateral and multilateral agencies, over the years. Underdevelopment of the seed sector imposes constraints on crop production and productivity, on the economic exploitation of the food crop genetic resources available in the region, and on the capability of countries to respond to disaster events that affect the food crop sector. Quality seed of improved, adapted varieties is pivotal to the expansion, improvement and sustainability of crop agriculture in the Caribbean and requires that national and regional policies be enacted, and appropriate strategies implemented to ensure, and assure, the adequacy, timeliness, reliability and affordability of improved seed throughout the region