Seed research in the semi-arid tropical region are developed by the agricultural Research Center for the Semi-Arid Tropic of EMBRAPA, the Pernambuco State Agricultural Research Enterprise, and the Federal University of Ceará. The seed research projects are concentrated to solve problems related to effects of sou salinity, drought tolerance, forest tree seed production, seed health, cultural practices and to the potential use of the San Francisco river valley to produce seed.