Access to seed is a vital factor in crop production, affecting which crops are grown and hence what food is available. This essay explores the power dynamics influencing three different seed provision systems in southern Africa, with a focus on Zimbabwe: formal seed systems involving commercial seed dealers and seed aid programmes; informal seed systems based on local markets, social networks and individual farmers saving seeds; and an intermediate system where seed is produced by community organisations. The author is Dr Bulisani L Ncube, senior programme officer at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, whose PhD thesis analysed the relationship between seed security and food security. He explains how different stakeholders perceive each of the seed provision systems and their benefits and drawbacks for reliability, traceability, income, knowledge transfer and more.