The seed sector in Somalia is under-developed and are predominantly informal with very few companies providing quality seeds to farmers. The semblance of a formal seed system is quite week and nascent. Most Farmers use farm-saved seeds for their field and local crops---mainly maize,
sorghum, cowpea, rice, and sesame. The weak regulatory systems to oversee and develop scientific protocol for testing, inspection, and certification on quality parameters such as purity and germination rates has resulted in low productivity. There has been officially no release of new improved varieties in Somalia over the last years resulting in the use of recycled traditional seeds by farmers. Globally, Somalia's yield per hectare for almost all agricultural crops remains the lowest.

Valleyseed Enterprise, a private Somali seed company that is based in Luuq, with great potential to contribute to the overall increase of grain production in Jubbaland particularly and in Somalia generally.
Valleyseed which is an offset of Centre for research and Integrated Development (CeRID) and Sayid Mohamed Technical Education College (SaMTEC) has vast experience in seed multiplication such as grains and sesame and has been providing agricultural extension services in Gedo region. Being the only formal seed company in Jubbaland, the company has vast potential market including the whole riverine areas of Juba river that stretches over 1,000Km within Somalia and far beyond.

Valleyseed has identified the market demand for its seeds to reach the entire Somalia, and neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia border regions. The initial company's Investments is USD 595,399 to expand its production, processing, and distribution capabilities, 54% of the initial fund is both in-kind and cash contribution from CeRID, SaMTEC and Valleyseed, while 25% is the contribution from USAID's Growth, Enterprise, Employment & Livelihoods (GEEL) project, and 21% is donated by Swiss International Cooperation (SDC) Horn of Africa.

The overall goal of Valleyseed's Sustainable Climate Smart Agriculture in Somalia is to promote climate smart agriculture practices and adaptation in Somalia, and contribute efforts in reducing food insecurity, malnutrition and enhancing resilience in the Horn of Africa through the following specific objective:

• Centrally planned seed system with well-coordinated breeding, testing, and production, processing and marketing that deliver homogeneous maize, sorghum, and cowpea seed varieties.
  Establishment of formal seed system for maize, sorghum, and cowpea involves the following activities/steps.

1. Selection of species and seed source/Nuclear seed selection
2. Seed testing, site/land selection for maintenance of the nucleus seed
3. Maintenance and multiplication of the breeder and foundation Seeds
4. Production of certified Seeds/Marketing certified seed

Somalia has just drafted seed policy regulatory framework to guide seed production and certification. Valleyseed will therefore benchmark its systems and invite regulators from the government of Somalia with support from FAO, IGAD and Somali National University for quality maintenance. Towards this end, CeRID, SaMTEC and Valleyseed enterprise will fully contribute and abide by Somalia's seed policy and regulatory system.