‘Seeds Without Borders’ Launched at 2nd India-Africa Seed Summit 2026 in Hyderabad
The 2nd India-Africa Seed Summit 2026 was held in Hyderabad, India, from 15 to 18 September 2026. Organized by the Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) in partnership with the African Seed Trade Association (AFSTA), the landmark summit brought together policymakers, agricultural scientists, and seed industry CEOs from over 20 African nations to address mutual challenges in food security and climate-smart agriculture.
Hyderabad is the capital of Telangana state in India and hosted the Summit since it is well known as the Seed Capital of India, and even as the Seed Hub of Asia. In India, Telangana boasts almost 60% of India’s total seed production. In raw weight, out of 35 lakh tonnes of seeds produced by India, nearly 25 lakh tonnes originate from Telangana. In addition, Hyderabad is home to over 400 Indian and multinational seed companies, which have established their research centers, processing plants, or major distribution warehouses there. It is estimated that the seed ecosystem contributes up to USD 8 billion to the economy every year.
ICFA Chair Suresh Prabhu M.J. Khan, ICRISAT DG Himanshu Pathak, and AFSTA SG Yacouba Diallo delivered keynotes at the Summit. Donald Movaindidze of the Gates Foundation and Adama Toure of the World Bank took part in a discussion about seed value chain financing.
Economic Projections: The summit marked the official release of the India–Africa Seed Trade Report, which projected cross-border seed trade potential to grow dramatically from $50 million to $500 million over the next decade.
Climate Resilience & Tech: Sessions heavily focused on leveraging AI & digital breeding to create drought-resistant, climate-resilient crop varieties to secure food supply chains across both continents.
“Seeds Without Borders”: A major policy discussion centered around creating a South-South Cooperation (#SSC) framework to harmonize seed regulations, making it easier for advanced Indian seed technology to be transferred and invested directly into African farming systems.
Combating Counterfeits: Leaders emphasized the necessity of implementing digital traceability and secure e-commerce platforms to protect smallholder and women farmers from low-quality or counterfeit seed products.
Field Ecosystem Exposure: Beyond the dialogue, African delegations (including groups from nations like Niger, Gambia, and Togo) engaged in technical B2B forums and visited premier local research institutions like ICRISAT and major private R&D processing facilities.
“We need to move beyond transactional exports to a transformational approach. Our collaboration seeks to transform Africa’s agriculture by building local capacities in standards harmonization, quality testing, and genetic resource sharing. While current figures for India’s global engagement in seeds hover around $130 million to $300 million, our goal through this unified partnership is to reach $1 billion.”
ICFA Executive Director M.J. Khan
No date was announced for the 3rd India-Africa Seed Summit. So far, the 1st and 2nd editions have all taken place in Hyderabad. By tradition, the hosting of such summits tends to alternate between India and Africa.