Seed producers and the primary users of the fruits of their labour meet in the field. Some to verify the performance of their seeds in the agroecology of southern Benin, others to praise the quality of the seeds they buy and to express some grievances.

Market gardeners and seed producers met on a 4-hectare market garden plot to exchange ideas face-to-face without intermediaries. The perimeter where they meet has only been in operation for a few months. But the list of what grows here is long: tall nightshade, Vernonia, basil, carrots, cabbage, cucumber, eggplant. Participants in the capacity-building workshop for Benin’s seed companies have come to meet regular consumers of their products, which they know only by name. But the real aim of the first stage of their visit was to get a feel for the realities on the ground, in particular, the conditions in which the seeds they sell are stored and handled before being sown.

An innovative and instructive visit that fulfilled the expectations of both parties.

A change of scenery a few kilometers further on. Representatives of the selected seed companies were expected to visit a seed sales boutique. Enthusiastic learners learnt how to put seeds on the shelves and other sales techniques, in fact, the practical phase of the theoretical courses they had received.

All in all, participants in this capacity-building session for Benin’s seed companies on producing and marketing quality seeds expressed their satisfaction with both the quality of the modules and the general atmosphere that prevailed during the four training days.

In a motion, they thanked the financial partners, notably the European Union, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the German Cooperation, without whom this capacity-building session would not have been possible.

A third training session on grafting techniques and seedling production will take place soon.