When 62-year-old Marie-Hélène Yanapou-Poutia joined a local certified seed producer group in Paoua, Central African Republic, in 2019, she was searching for practical solutions to persistent low groundnut yields and limited access to high-quality farming inputs.

With the provision of training, which was supported by Welthungerhilfe, Marie-Hélène recalls, she gained access to the knowledge and inputs needed to produce high-quality, locally adapted seeds on her own and sell the certified seeds to local smallholder farmers. Consequently, she notes, since 2019 she has been able to increase her household income up to seven times higher than before, allowing her to invest in her children’s education, expand her land, and raise livestock.

Marie-Hélène’s reported success is emblematic of a larger transformation. For over two decades, the Central African Republic faced recurring political instability and armed conflict, severely disrupting rural life and state institutions. In 2013 a coup and widespread intercommunal violence triggered a crisis that led to massive displacements, protracted insecurity, and a devastated seed system (World Bank 2022): Research stations were destroyed and genetic material was lost, leaving smallholders without reliable access to seeds.

Since 2014, Welthungerhilfe has supported the restoration of these vital agricultural services. In close partnership with national and international partners, Welthungerhilfe supported the rehabilitation of five research stations and the headquarters of the national research institute, the Institut Centrafricain de la Recherche Agronomique (ICRA). Shifting from emergency response toward long-term systemic transformation, the project strengthened research and extension services, and supported the reintroduction and multiplication of quality certified seed varieties through local seed producer groups across Central African Republic.

Farmers like Marie-Hélène now play a key role in this system. They are trained and certified to multiply quality seed stocks for key crops sourced from ICRA’s research. In this way, they link scientific innovation with local production and improved market access. The transformation of seed systems in Central African Republic demonstrates how sustained investment in locally driven agriculture can strengthen food security, lay the foundation for long-term structural change, and ensure that small-scale farmers like Marie-Hélène can thrive and build resilient livelihoods.

1. This case study was prepared by Welthungerhilfe (WHH), funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), aims to improve food security and household incomes in rural Central African Republic by enhancing access to quality seeds and technical support. It works closely with national partners— Agence Centrafricaine de Développement Agricole (ACDA), Institut Centrafricain de la Recherche Agronomique (ICRA), and Office National de Semences (ONASEM)—to strengthen institutional capacities through support, infrastructure rehabilitation, training, agricultural tools, seeds for reproduction, and updated crop manuals. These institutions in turn support smallholder farmers in producing and marketing agricultural goods.