MASAP is a 12-year programme whose goal is to improve resilience in food security of smallholder households (especially women and youth) by increasing adoption and utilization of improved open and self-pollinated varieties of small grains (sorghum and millet) and legumes (cowpea and groundnut) through strengthening the seed and commodity value chains in Zambia and Zimbabwe. MASAP´s long term vision is the creation of a vibrant and community driven seed and commodity market system, creating income opportunities and resilience for smallholder farmers in particular women and the youth supported by strong institutions, national and regional policies and innovative private sector actors. In so doing, MASAP will promote innovative agro-ecologically sensitive and other strategies and practices that ensure mitigation and adaptation to climate change by the smallholder farming households. The programme will be implemented in three phases of four years each until 2033.
MASAP has three main components and outcomes, namely Component 1: Adoption and utilization of small grain and legume seed by smallholder farmers- Outcome 1: Sustainable community owned enterprises and associations provide services that lead to smallholder farmers – in particular women and youth - having higher and diversified incomes resulting from adoption and utilization of small grains and legumes seeds and sales of these commodities.
Component 2: Private Sector Engagement: Outcome 2: Sustainable and predictable availability of Early Generation Seed (EGS), access to affordable quality seeds of small grain and legume and related services by smallholder farmers through increased engagement of the private sector (market establishment and/or improvement).
Component 3: Policy engagement and action learning research: Outcome 3: Gender and youth responsive enabling policy environment supportive of small grains and legumes sectors’ needs and interests developed.
The first phase runs from December 2021 to November 2025 and focusses on rolling out the project implementation in the four initial districts of Tsholotsho and Mudzi in Zimbabwe, and in Sioma and Chipata in Zambia. The second phase, from 2026 to 2029, is expected to consolidate the results from the first phase, provide opportunities for scaling up project activities through increasing the value chains and adding more districts across Zambia and Zimbabwe. The third phase, from 2030 to 2033, shall concretely embed all the system and structural changes inside the institutions to allow sustained project outcomes and a smooth phasing-out of the program.
MASAP expects to reach approximately 94,000 Smallholder farmers in the first phase (direct and indirect beneficiaries) and 5,300 seed producers (direct beneficiaries) through the establishment of seed community-owned enterprises or associations and support to emerging second tier seed companies with a 60 % and 40 % increased women and youth participation respectively. The primary target group for phase 1 receiving direct support by the project will be smallholder farmers and seed producers in the target districts as well as Community-owned enterprises, associations, researchers, agro-processors processors, breeders and policy makers.
Advisory on Action Research and Learning for evidence-based practice, decisions and policies on Seed Systems and Climate Change
