Catalyzing Seed Systems Smallholder Farmers Use.

Seed can be an important entry point for promoting diverse system goals but strategies need to be tailored---  towards  production, nutrition, resilience and income generation, respectively.   While investments have primarily focused on strengthening the formal sector, conclusions drawn from a uniquely comprehensive data set (9660 observations in six  countries, covering 40 crops)  show that informal systems remain the core of smallholder seed security, supplying 90.2%  of seed overall, with 50.9%  derived from local markets.  Recent innovations in input delivery systems are described for  variously catalyzing the formal, informal and integrated seed sectors,  with field  examples drawn especially from Africa and Asia.