Seed is a farmer’s most essential input, especially in times of crisis. Unfortunately, in recent years, there has been an increasing incidence of emergency situations stemming from natural disasters, such as droughts and floods, as well as from civil wars and ethnic conflicts. Seed relief activities aim to contribute to food and livelihood security in such situations by ensuring that farmers, especially vulnerable farmers, have access to seed (i.e. planting material) of adequate quality.

In May 2003, FAO, together with its partner organizations, convened an international stakeholders’ workshop on effective and sustainable seed relief activities. This brought together stakeholders from FAO, relief agencies, donors, technical organizations and emergency-prone countries to exchange lessons learned in the area of seed relief; to identify gaps and needs in the development of tools, guidance and methodologies; and to agree on recommendations for further work. This report contains the results of that workshop, including a number of case studies of seed relief activities in several African countries. The lessons learned have been translated into a set of guiding principles that have already been adopted by FAO’s Emergency Coordination Group and are being progressively applied in the Organization’s emergency operations.