How It Works
Quality • Efficiency • Certification
The SeedAssure Platform (SAP) requires the Inspector to register on to the SeedAssure App that is on their mobile device, open a Field Inspection Form template, from a library of assurance assessments, and then complete the field inspection as they always have – except now entering the data digitally instead of on paper.
The digital Field Inspection Form has exactly the same series of questions, asked in the same order, as the paper Inspection Form that they are familiar with.
In the Common Market of East and Southern Africa, there is an exciting new program to digitize and harmonise all but the most specific areas of each seed inspection forms, making them similar enables the industry to collaborate much closer and trade more seed easier. This is because of many years of effort by COMESA, SADC, ECOWAS, UEMOA and EAC regional bodies to harmonize country seed laws to improve seed trade amongst Member States for the benefit of farmers.
Once the inspection and digital form have been completed, a report summarizing all the entered data is automatically generated and sent as an attachment to the Inspectors email. The Inspector can then review and submit the report by email to their designated authority. This digital way of inspection reporting has multiple benefits. The Inspector does not need to return to their office to complete a report for submission – a simple forwarding email will do. The report can also be sent to the seed grower right after the inspection, allowing them to take timely corrective action and avoid otherwise costly mistakes that could have lowered the volume and quality of seed they produced or failed the crop from receiving certification.
Further, the digital inspection records are geo-referenced making it easy for Inspectors to geo-locate the production fields for subsequent inspections and also to accurately locate any notifiable pests and diseases the Inspector may have come across during their inspections. Early and accurate surveillance of pest and disease outbreaks has major benefit, allowing authorities to take quick action to arrest emerging problems.
As the data is cloud based, it is secure from loss or manipulation, and is authorized to be accessed by the various stakeholders involved – the Seed Inspector, National Seed Authority, Seed Grower, Seed Company, Seed Trade Association – depending on what information they are need or are mandated to have. Data security and respect of Confidential Business Information is completely assured – as SeedAssure is built on a platform that has for many years securely conducted over 20 million quality checks for numerous global companies.
The SeedAssure Platform serves two types of Inspectors – those inspecting to obtain Certification from National Seed Authorities, and those, largely seed companies, focused on optimizing their seed production quality, quantity and efficiency.
For inspections seeking Certification, the National Seed Authority will receive and assess the SeedAssure Field Inspection Reports and make their determination to certify or not in the usual way – and as mandated by national seed laws. Some Seed Authorities may have in-house digital ERP’s that SeedAssure reports will digitally interface with (interoperable platforms), while other National Authorities will still be on manual systems. Both systems work fine with SeedAssure.
For Seed Companies, inspections carried out on the SeedAssure Platform assist them optimize their productivity and quality by highlighting for action issues that constrain yield of compromise quality. The detailed questions asked in the digital inspection form display ‘Traffic light’ color codes (Red, Green, Amber) depending on the answer given to the question, making it easy for company production manager or seed grower to identify and resolve issues that would hampered seed productivity and quality.
The SeedAssure platform is tailored to each country’s Seed Act requirements and Certification process, and aligned with Regional Trade protocols tools, and establishes a 360-degree view of production or processing data for clients. It can also be readily integrated into other business software’s, so clients do not have to lose previous IT investments or discontinue software’s they currently use.