SAVING SEEDS:CREATING FOOD DIVERSITY

AND SECURITY

WHY ARE SMALLHOLDER ORGANIC FARMERS SAVING SEEDS?

AND WHY SHOULD SCIENCE SUPPORT THIS?

CESAR GALVEY, CHAIRMAN, LA TRINIDAD ORGANIC PRACTICIONERS

KAREN LEE HIZOLA, PROGRAM MANAGER, FRIENDS OF ENCA FARM

SHERRY MANNING, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FRIENDS OF ENCA FARM

PADMAPANI PEREZ, RESEARCH FELLOW, FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY

SEED SAVING IS NOTHING NEW.

SO WHY IS IT SO EXCITING NOW?

VEGETABLE GARDENING IN BENGUET

INTRODUCED CULTIVARS, NEW AGRICULTURAL CUSTOMS, AND THE IMPACT OF MODERNIZING AGRICULTURE.

96% DIVERSITY LOST

How Heirloom Seeds Can Feed the World p. 106 “Almost 96% of commercial vegetable varieties available in 1903 are now extinct.”

THREE COMPANIES NOW CONTROL 77% OF THE MARKET

FOOD DIVERSITY AND FOOD SECURITY

• Food security: “When all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life” (World Bank), but also:

• Communities’ ability to nourish themselves and support each other.

• Farmers’ ability to withstand shock or to continue to produce food even after a disaster.

• More diverse crops means more options, not just for farmers, but for the people that farmers feed.

THE BENGUET ASSOCIATION OF SEED SAVERS

CHOOSING A DIFFERENT PATH

SEED SCHOOL

COMMUNITY-BASED SEED TRIALS

SEED TRIAL RESULTS• RESULTS SHOWED

WHICH CULTIVARS ARE ABLE TO THRIVE IN THE AREA. (SWISSCHARD, BEETS, LETTUCE, PEPPERS, TOMATOES, CORN, BEANS, CABBAGES, KALE, BRUSSELSSPROUTS)

• SOIL ACIDITY APPEARS NOT BE AN INDICATOR OF SUCCESS.

• SAVING SEEDS CAN SAVE FARMERS A MINIMUM OF PHP 4,000 ANNUALLY.

COMMUNITY SEED LIBRARY

WHY SAVE SEEDS?

FARMERS AND RESEARCHHOW BASS MEMBERS HAVE EXPERIENCED RESEARCH.

FARMERS WELCOME RESEARCH,

BUT RESEARCH THAT INCLUDES THEMAND ANSWERS THEIR QUESTIONS.

RESEARCH TOPICS IDENTIFIED BY BASS MEMBERS

• ECONOMIC: VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS OF ORGANIC CROPS AND ORGANIC SEEDS.

• ECOLOGICAL: WATER (TOO LITTLE OR TOO MUCH), CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ON SMALLHOLDER ORGANIC FARMERS, EVIDENCE OF ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF ORGANIC FARMERS, SURVIVAL OF LOWLAND VARIETIES IN THE HIGHLANDS, PESTS AND DISEASE, SEEDS AND CROPS THAT WILL THRIVE IN THE FUTURE.

• SOCIOCULTURAL: CONSUMER AWARENESS AND CHOICES, OTHER FARMERS’ RELUCTANCE TO ADOPT ORGANIC METHODS AND TO SAVE SEEDS.

• “DEVELOP A PACKAGE OF TECHNOLOGY.”

LET’S WORK TOGETHER AND LEARN FROM EACH OTHER.

THANK YOU!