When she’s done cleaning rooms at the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) in Ekona, Cameroon, Bessem Ayuk Florence sets aside her broom and mop to multiply seed of traditional African vegetables. Bessem Ayuk Florence and Ojong Agbor, a research assistant at IRAD, attended a seed multiplication training workshop organized by AVRDC in March 2015, where they learned how to produce and market quality seed of traditional African vegetables. “Our way of producing seed is completely different from the traditional ways, because we nurse and cultivate seeds using the best practices we learned,” she said. “We also test our seed to measure the germination rate before we pack it plastic bags.”

After showing samples of their packed seed to some farmers, the overwhelming positive response left the women wondering if they will be able to meet the demand. Undaunted by the challenge, the women are preparing to expand their seed production business.

Contributor: Regine Kamga, AVRDC Cameroon