Training manual on vegetable seed systems. Module 3: Seed production, handling and storage

Vegetables are a main source of income and nutrition for ethnic minority farmers in Vietnam’s Northern highlands. While value chains for fresh produce and seed markets offer significant opportunities for development—particularly for women and youth—the current smallholder seed systems suffer from multiple problems. Such problems include inadequate access to quality seeds, lack of guaranteed product quality, poor storage and treatment practices, and limited smallholder participation in seed value chains. This training manual based on the project’s experiences and lessons learned is designed to assist facilitators in designing and customizing their own training sessions on seed system related topics.

The manual is made up of four modules. This is Module 3: Seed Production, Handling, and Storage that presents a step-by-step guide to vegetable seed production, from a general introduction to seed type, quality, and the growing cycle, to the preparation before planting, vegetable planting, seed crop management, harvesting and storage, with a final section on seed production for commercial purposes.