Horticultural crops—for both local consumption and export—are important crops in eastern and southern Africa, recognized for their health and nutritional benefits as well as cash income. Vegetable crops have been and remain an important part of THE horticultural sector in these regions. In recent years, vegetable exports have been rapidly growing, contributing significantly to the gross domestic produce (GDP) and creating employment. Despite the rapid growth of the sector, vegetable production continues to be hampered by pests and diseases, perishability and poor varieties. These factors have been attributed to the poor quality of vegetable seeds. Most vegetable seeds are imported and are not always suited to local conditions; however, little effort has been made to identify factors inhibiting their local breeding and production. The main objectives of this study are to assess opportunities and constraints for future economic development of sustainable vegetable seed businesses in eastern and southern Africa and to make recommendations to address the major issues identified. The study focuses on Kenya due to the importance of the horticultural sector in this country and the wealth of information available from other studies and projects. It also assesses, where information is available, aspects of the vegetable sector in neighbouring countries such as Tanzania and Uganda in eastern Africa and in selected countries including South Africa and Zimbabwe in southern Africa. Although the study focuses on the domestic or local vegetable sector, a brief comparison is made with the export sector to help define the importance of the domestic sector in the overall context of the horticultural sector in Kenya and to emphasize its neglect to date in terms of research input and investment.