CRS seed vouchers & fairs – an innovative approach to help farm communities recover from disaster
Summary of internal evaluation

Exchange of seed vouchers for seed in Kiritiri, Mbeere district
CRS have recently been involved in two innovative seeds projects in northern Uganda and Kenya.
CRS/Uganda Karamojong incursion project
In early 2000, Karamojong pastoralists moved in search of pasture thereby displacing an estimated 100,000 persons in Lira and Kitgum districts in northern Uganda. In response, CRS/Uganda developed a plan to assist 12,000 families obtain seed to plant when they returned home.
Lack of access to seed, rather than a lack of local availability, was identified as a major constraint to planting. With this realisation CRS developed a novel voucher system to help families get hold of seed. Rather than purchase commercial seed and distribute it to farm families, vouchers were issued that could be redeemed for commercial seed from stockists or for traditional seed from local grain traders. This was the first time that CRS had implemented this type of voucher system.
An evaluation of the project concluded that the Karamojong Incursion Project was a success for the following reasons:
- 12,000 families accessed over 200 MTs of seed of 10 different crops and 30 different varieties
- Both farmers and traders were empowered to organise procurement, transport, marketing and purchase of seed
- Almost 50% of the participating grain traders were women
- Farmers were able to access seed varieties that are traditionally planted late.
One negative aspect of the programme was that instances of coercion of voucher holders by traders were reported, highlighting the need for close supervision of the process.
Combining seed vouchers and seed fairs in Eastern Kenya
In late 2000, with the start of the short rains approaching, CRS/Kenya approached FAO to fund a project that combined seed fairs and a voucher system as a means of helping farm families obtain preferred crops and varieties.
CRS and its partners were able to organise a total of 14 seed fairs with 275 participating grain traders (more than 75% of whom were women). Over 8000 farm families accessed seeds of their choice through voucher exchange at the seed fairs. The entire project (family targeting, voucher distribution and fair organisation) was implemented within a three week period prior to the onset of the rains. In contrast, many relief agencies that ordered seed from commercial companies did not receive supplies in time for planting. In addition, the CRS project proved greater value for money. Farmers were able to access up to 14 kgs of seed in exchange for the $8 vouchers, which would have purchased only 4 kg of commercial maize seed.
Both in Uganda and in Kenya, the innovative approaches to seed provision proved advantageous over more conventional seed programmes, in that they:
- Supported rather than undermined local seed systems
- Enabled farm families to access seed of preferred crops and varieties and of acceptable quality
- Were cost effective
- Were simple to implement, monitor and evaluate
- Could be planned and implemented in a short period of time
- Served the needs of large numbers of farm families experiencing difficulty accessing seed
For further information contact Annemarie Reilly - email address AReilly@crs-ert.or.ke
More like this
FEX: Support for primary production (Special Supplement 3)
7.1 Introduction This section focuses on supporting agricultural production, in particular farming and livestock production, as livelihood strategies. Production support can...
FEX: Seed security in southern Sudan
Summary of published paper1 sorghum ready for harvest Seeds-and-tools programmes have been widely implemented throughout southern Sudan as a means of increasing the...
FEX: Seed vouchers and fairs in Zimbabwe - CRS (Special Supplement 3)
In 2001/2, Zimbabwe experienced one of the worst droughts in ten years. Other factors which contributed to create a food crisis included economic decline, characterised by high...
FEX: References for Special Supplement 3
Beatrice, a beneficiary of the CRS seed voucher scheme in Burundi 1. Abdulai A., Barret, C., Hoddinott, J. (2004, June). Does food aid really have disincentive effects? new...
FEX: Vouchers and fairs as emergency response in DRC
Summary of evaluation1 Masisi Centre fair In late 2008, escalated fighting among rebels and the Congolese Armed Forces (FARCD) provoked renewed and widespread displacement in...
FEX: Assessing seed systems in relief operations
Summary1 of published paper Bags of wheat seed are returned to Concern by seed beneficiaries, Caliomamo, Angola Existing guidelines on emergency seed provisioning contain...
FEX: Access to markets and services (Special Supplement 3)
6.1 Introduction In emergencies, access to markets may be lost for a number of reasons. Since most people live in a cash economy, restoring and maintaining adequate access to...
FEX: Grassroots seed multiplication in Ethiopia
By George Jacob George Jacob is communications officer with the Irish agency, Self Help Development International. The author would like to thank Dr. Awol Mela, Africa...
Resource: Seed vouchers in emergency programming: Lessons from Ethiopia and Mozambique.
This Background Paper examines the use of vouchers to provide seed and other agricultural inputs to farmers affected by disaster. While vouchers have been used to provide...
FEX: Food vouchers in Zimbabwe (Special Supplement 3)
By Ann Witteveen and Lewis Lawrence Musa, Oxfam Children returning from miller with maize bought at the Grain Marketing Board. The food voucher programme was designed to...
FEX: The nutrition-sensitive potential of agricultural programmes in the context of school feeding: lessons from Haiti
By Nathan Mallonee, Jason Streubel, Manassee Mersilus and Grace Heymsfield Lisez cet article en français ici Nathan Mallonee is the Director of Program Effectiveness...
FEX: Cash and Vouchers in Emergencies
Summary of published paper1 Women have not been found to be disadvantaged by cash for work programmes A recently published discussion paper examines the use of cash and...
FEX: Emergency Food Security and Livelihoods Project in Amhara and Oromia regions
By Shekar Anand, Oxfam Shekar is Programme Director for Oxfam GB in Ethiopia. Past experience includes working with OXFAM, CARE, CIDA, and Government in Aceh, India, Zimbabawe...
FEX: Impact of Food Delays on Refugees
Author: Lina Payne - Food Researcher Resettlement programme, N. Uganda, Oxfam Between 1995 and 1997, Ikafe and Imvepi settlements in Arua District, North Uganda,...
FEX: The danger of interpreting anthropometric data out of context
Mark Myatt is a consultant epidemiologist and senior research fellow at the Institute of Ophthalmology. His areas of expertise are infectious disease, nutrition and survey...
FEX: Participatory Approach to Food Security in Uganda
By Erin Culbertson and Moses Kalyebara Erin Culbertson has been the Technical Writer for Plan Uganda since July 2003. As part of her primary degree in Public and...
FEX: A market analysis and subsequent interventions following floods in the south-east of Haiti (2004) (Special Supplement 3)
By Pantaleo Creti, Oxfam In June 2004 continuous rains were at the origin of large landslides and floods in the South East of Haiti, which cause loss of human lives, and...
FEX: Biofortification: Helping meet nutrition needs worldwide
News By Dr Erick Boy, Nutrition Head, HarvestPlus Dr Erick Boy is a public health practitioner and has a doctoral degree in nutrition from University of California, Davis. He...
FEX: Resilient farming in Satkhira, Bangladesh
By Emmanuelle Maisonnave and Julie Mayans View this article as a pdf Lisez cet article en français ici Emmanuelle Maisonnave is the Institutional Knowledge Building...
FEX: Introduction (Special Supplement 3)
Glossary AAH Action Against Hunger ACF Action Contre la Faim ACF-E ACF-Spain ALDEF Arid Lands Development Focus AREN Association pour la Revitalisation de l'Elevage...
Reference this page
CRS seed vouchers & fairs – an innovative approach to help farm communities recover from disaster. Field Exchange 15, April 2002. p21. www.ennonline.net/fex/15/crs
(ENN_3590)