b'This is where I first met Hlne, Haran says. Hlne was so enthusiastic and energetic, that she immediately suggested forming a collaboration between Fair Planet and ISF, to take our initiative to a much higher level. Follow-up meetings with Hlne and Michael Keller resulted in an invita-tion to present the Fair Planet initiative during the World Seed Congress in 2019 in France.But the real plan came into action at the United Nations Food Systems Summit in 2021, where ISF firmed up its commitments to seed resiliency globally. We decided that one of the commitments was to work on a pilot project to grow on the ground Khan Niazi says. For us, seed resilience is the ability for a seed system to work sustainably. We wanted to be more concrete and have an on-the-ground example of how we can help a seed system develop sustainably.For ISF, it seemed like Fair Planet could provide the perfect opportunity due to their experiences and expertise. I founded Fair Planet in 2012, as an NGO, to bridge the gap between the best seeds in the world and the poorest farmers, who mostly use low-quality seeds and inadequate agro-technical practices that result in very low yields and poor income, Haran says. Our mission is to develop the capacity of smallholder farmers in developing countries to transform agriculture into a profitable source of income, through access to high-qualityWithin that mission, Fair Planet has partnered with individual seed com-seeds, knowledge and skills. panies to determine what high-quality vegetable seeds are relevant for local markets and climates in Ethiopia and Tanzania. After trialing the seeds and varieties to identify the best local performers, Fair Planet trains lead farmers how to use these seeds through weekly visits on their own fields, together with local extension officers who gain knowledge on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and practical training skills. The lead farmers serve as key agents of change: their success attracts their neighbors to use high-quality seeds and better farming practices, leading to a strong ripple effect and a very quick spread of the technology, Haran says. In parallel, the local extension system passes on the knowledge to a larger circle of farmers, thus exponentially increasing the dissemination of high-quality seeds and best practices.Seed choice for farmers is a key principle for ISF members, says Khan Niazi. We value the concept of Fair Planet because the NGO not only pro-poses improved varieties from renowned seed companies but also includes local varieties in their trial fields. Sometimes local varieties perform better and most important is that farmers have the possibility to make an informed choice of the varieties suiting best his/her needs. One example Haran gives was taken from the Fair Planets project in Ethiopia, called the onion case. We compared the agronomic and economic performance of imported hybrid onion varieties to a locally available open-pollinated one, for which the seed price was six times lower, she says. Although its crop yield and quality were inferior, the net income it generated per plot, was higher. Therefore, most of the farmers chose to grow this onion variety and the project provided them with training on GAP.30/ SEEDWORLD.COMINTERNATIONAL EDITION 2023'