Promising Strategies to Enhance the Sustainability of Community Seed Banks

Ronnie Vernooy (), Joyce Adokorach, Arnab Gupta, Gloria Otieno, Jai Rana, Pitambar Shrestha and Abishkar Subedi
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Ronnie Vernooy: Bioversity International, c/o Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
Joyce Adokorach: Plant Genetic Resources Centre, National Agricultural Research Organisation, Entebbe P.O. Box 40, Uganda
Arnab Gupta: Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
Gloria Otieno: Bioversity International, c/o NARO Kawanda Agricultural Research Institute, 13 km Gulu Road, Kampala P.O. Box 6247, Uganda
Jai Rana: Bioversity International, c/o G-1, B Block, NASC Complex, DPS Marg, Pusa Campus, New Delhi 10012, India
Pitambar Shrestha: Community Seed Banks Association of Nepal, Kawasoti Municipality-14, Nawalparasi, Agyauli, Nepal
Abishkar Subedi: Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-20

Abstract: Community seed banks are farmer-managed organizations that conserve and sustainably manage local crop and tree diversity. They are found in many countries of the Global South and increasingly in the Global North. Altogether, they maintain hundreds of crop and tree species and thousands of mostly local varieties and distribute tons of quality seed per year. Through their activities, they share and safeguard the world’s agrobiodiversity, contribute to seed security, and allow farming households in local communities to produce and consume more affordable, secure, diverse, and nutritious foods. However, community seed banks are knowledge-, resource-, and time-intensive organizations that operate through their members’ voluntary contributions. The purpose of this article is to analyze the sustainability challenge of community seed banks and identify strategies that address it. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were used, complemented by secondary data analysis of research reports and other deliverables, resulting in five case study countries in Africa and Asia. Five promising sustainability strategies can support viable community seed bank development: value addition; nature-positive agriculture; enabling environment and national genebank partnership; networking and digitalization; and modern, low-cost seed quality technologies. Sustainable community seed banks can make important contributions to national seed sector development but they need stronger policy and legal support to maintain their sustainability.

Keywords: community seed bank; custodians; seed producers; seed sector development; strategies; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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