Bangladesh-Netherlands Seed Platform

Bangladesh and the Netherlands are actively working on the Bangladesh-Netherlands Seed Platform. The intended outcome of this project is the development of a fully-fledged Bangladesh-Netherlands Seed Partnership with the vision to foster public-private collaboration, facilitate information sharing, and address challenges to private sector investments. The first initiative is to establish a platform with local secretariat. This will contribute to the vision of the Partnership and to the Netherlands' program on Sustainable Horticulture in Bangladesh.

Background to the Platform

The Bangladesh-Netherlands Seed Platform builds on the Seed Sector Assessment of the Bangladesh seed sector conducted in 2023. The assessment focused on the seed sector relevant to vegetables and potatoes, and performed initial scoping on seed systems relevant to flowers. It also included an in-depth analysis of seed policy and regulatory frameworks and their implementation. For each of the crop groups, key bottlenecks as well as ambitions towards the development of a well-functioning Bangladesh seed sector were elaborated. The study was implemented by Wageningen University & Research, Naktuinbouw, Innovision consulting, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality, (LNV), The Netherlands. Find the results in the final report.

Activities

The project performs several activities, including:  

  • Establishing a local Secretariat to oversee progress, prepare Platform meetings, and develop proposals for new projects

  • Keeping a close ear out for Dutch interests through a Dutch Advisory Committee

  • Organizing Round Tables to discuss pertinent issues on seed regulation with government

  • Facilitating Public-Private Dialogue between stakeholders from both Bangladesh and the Netherlands

  • Arranging Exchange Visits between the Netherlands and Bangladesh

Role of SeedNL

SeedNL cares for the overall management of the project and facilitates the Dutch Advisory Committee meetings and Exchange Visits to the Netherlands. The Bangladesh Seed Association hosts the Secretariat responsible for organizing Platform and Steering Committee meetings in Bangladesh. Technical Assistance is provided by Wageningen Social & Economic Research. 

How to get involved?

If you are an enterprise interested in doing business in and with Bangladesh's seed sector, please get in touch to be part of our dialogues. If you are a development organization and have a complementary agenda, please explore how we can create synergies in strengthening Bangladesh's private seed sector. 

For more information or to express your interest in collaborating with us, please contact our project leader, Gareth Borman at gborman@seednl.nl  

Picture references - Jim Agro Roy of Innovision