seed systems

This movie narrates the story of Ethiopian plant geneticist Dr Melaku Worede and his lifelong commitment for the acknowledgement of traditional farmers’ knowledge and his commitment to secure Ethiopia’s crop diversity. The movie tries to underscore the importance of the knowledge of farmers. »

This movie on SciDevNet shows how improved seed varieties in Timor-Leste have contributed to improved food security. The movie documents the advances of the project Seeds of Life, which is designed to improve food security through helping farmers produce and distribute improved seed varieties. The farmers can use the seeds themselves but also sell the seeds for profit. Improved seed varieties can improve climate resilience. »

The report by The African Centre for Biosafety (ACB), describes how the seed industry in sub-Saharan Africa, far from being a homogenous bloc, is comprised of several layers. These include the largest multinational companies; a number of large companies from Europe and Asia, many of whom specialise in vegetable crops; and a group of former national seed companies from eastern and southern Africa. Joining these established players is a plethora of emerging African seed companies. »

The Resilient Seed Systems Resource Box is a tool to enhance the access and use of crop diversity to adapt to climate change. It is an open-access toolkit with eight steps that provides a methodology to build resilient seed systems and helps farmers adapt to climate change effects. The box can be used to find selected resource to support research processes, or as a learning tool for building capacity in facilitating, conducting or participating in research processes. »

In this article on the CGIAR website, Michael Halewood of Bioversity International reports on the workshop ‘Mutual Implementation of the Plant Treaty and the Nagoya Protocol in the context of wider policy goals’, held Nov. 16-20 in Addis Ababa. The meeting focused on how countries can identify and access diversity they need and share associated benefits. »

This paper in the Food Policy Journal identifies four common misconceptions regarding the nature and importance of farmer seed networks today. (1) Farmer seed networks are inefficient for seed dissemination. (2) Farmer seed networks are closed, conservative systems. (3) Farmer seed networks provide ready, egalitarian access to seed. (4) Farmer seed networks are destined to weaken and disappear. »