As African leaders and stakeholders gather for the 2026 AU Seed Summit under the theme “Resilient Seed Systems for a Food Secure Africa,” the Rural Women’s Assembly (RWA) SADC is bringing forward the voices, knowledge and demands of rural women and smallholder farmers across the region.

In our new submission, The Seeds Are Ours, RWA members from eleven SADC countries reflect on the proposed African Union Policy, Strategy and Action Plan on Farmer Managed Seed Systems (FMSS). As women who select, save, multiply, exchange and preserve seeds from one generation to the next, we know that farmer-managed seed systems are fundamental to our food and nutrition security, resilience, culture and livelihoods. A4 Final The seeds are ours

We welcome the growing recognition of farmer-managed seed systems and of the role rural women play in sustaining them. But recognition alone is not enough. Our submission raises serious concerns about whether the proposed AU policy adequately protects seed sovereignty, farmers’ rights, indigenous knowledge and community control over seeds.

We argue that farmer-managed seed systems must remain farmer-led, community-rooted and governed, rather than being reshaped according to the rules and standards of commercial seed systems. A4 Final The seeds are ours

We also call for stronger and more meaningful participation of rural women and farmers’ organisations in shaping the policy, and for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) to be incorporated into the AU framework, including protection of farmers’ rights to save, use, exchange and sell their seeds. A4 Final The seeds are ours

This is about more than seed. It is about who controls Africa’s food systems, whose knowledge is valued, and what we leave for future generations.

We invite you to read: