The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has officially launched the Africa Digital Crop Variety Catalogue, a landmark platform set to revolutionize the continent’s access to improved seeds. Developed in collaboration with national Ministries of Agriculture, National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), and Regulatory Authorities across six countries, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, the catalogue offers Africa’s first comprehensive, interactive, and searchable database of officially released crop varieties.
AGRA Vice President for the Centre for Technical Expertise, Jonathan Said, described the digital catalogue as “an important milestone to strengthen the seed market and further scale high-yielding and nutrient-dense seed access by smallholder farmers.”
The platform was developed through AGRA’s Centre of Excellence for Seed Systems in Africa (CESSA), which provides integrated tools, data, training, and digital innovations to build equitable and robust seed systems. It directly addresses challenges such as fragmentation, outdated information, and limited access to national crop variety data, problems that have long hindered the agricultural transformation in Africa.
Despite the release of hundreds of improved crop varieties over the past decade, many African countries have lacked an up-to-date, accessible platform to consolidate and share this information. As a result, farmers, particularly women and youth, have struggled to access quality seeds, limiting productivity and innovation.
“In many African countries, vital data on crop varieties is incomplete or entirely inaccessible,” said Alice Ruhweza, President of AGRA. “The Africa Digital Crop Variety Catalogue fills this critical gap by offering a centralized and transparent digital resource.”
AGRA’s efforts over the past two decades have significantly advanced Africa’s seed systems, contributing to the release of 688 crop varieties, strengthening 114 African seed companies, and empowering 38,000 agro-dealers, which together have supported 33 million farmers across the continent.
The catalogue is underpinned by key AGRA tools and strategies including the Seed Systems Assessment Tool (SeedSAT), Seed Investment Plans, and the Seed System Performance Index (SSPI), now officially adopted by the African Union as a continental benchmark. These instruments guide actionable reforms that are data-driven and tailored to country-specific needs.
Dr. Jane Ininda, Interim Director of CESSA, emphasized the wider impact of the platform: “This is not just a digital catalogue – it is a game-changer for seed sector transparency, equity, and growth. By consolidating variety data from across the continent, we’re enabling smarter investment, research prioritization, and ultimately, improved livelihoods for farmers.”
The searchable, user-friendly catalogue will benefit breeders, regulators, policymakers, seed companies, and development partners by offering instant access to variety-specific data, aiding decisions around commercialization, seed production, marketing, and policy design.
AGRA is now calling on all stakeholders, including governments, researchers, private seed companies, and NGOs, to adopt and contribute to the platform, making it a dynamic, living tool that evolves with the region’s agricultural needs.
“The Africa Digital Crop Variety Catalogue is a critical step in driving agricultural resilience, inclusivity, and prosperity across Africa,” Ruhweza said. “By ensuring equitable access to high-quality seed information, we are giving farmers the tools they need to succeed.”
With this digital innovation, AGRA reinforces its commitment to putting farmers at the centre of Africa’s economic transformation by promoting African-led, sustainable, and inclusive agricultural growth.
Written By Rodney Mbua
