Community Seed Banks Origins, Evolution and Prospects Issues in Agricultural Biodiversity Series

Community seed banks first appeared towards the end of the 1980s, established with the support of international and national non-governmental organizations. This book is the first to provide a global review of their development and includes a wide range of case studies.

Countries that pioneered various types of community seed banks include Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Nicaragua, the Philippines and Zimbabwe. In the North, a particular type of community seed bank emerged known as a seed-savers network. Such networks were first established in Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA before spreading to other countries. Over time, the number and diversity of seed banks has grown. In Nepal, for example, there are now more than 100 self-described community seed banks whose functions range from pure conservation to commercial seed production. In Brazil, community seed banks operate in various regions of the country.

Surprisingly, despite 25 years of history and the rapid growth in number, organizational diversity and geographical coverage of community seed banks, recognition of their roles and contributions has remained scanty. The book reviews their history, evolution, experiences, successes and failures (and reasons why), challenges and prospects. It fills a significant gap in the literature on agricultural biodiversity and conservation, and their contribution to food sovereignty and security.

1. Introduction Ronnie Vernooy, Pitambar Shrestha and Bhuwon Sthapit Part 1: Comparative Analysis of Key Aspects of Community Seed Banks 2. Origins and Evolution Ronnie Vernooy, Pitambar Shrestha and Bhuwon Sthapit 3. Functions and Activities Pitambar Shrestha, Ronnie Vernooy and Bhuwon Sthapit 4. Governance and Management Bhuwon Sthapit, Ronnie Vernooy and Pitambar Shrestha 5. Technical Issues Pitambar Shrestha, Bhuwon Sthapit and Ronnie Vernooy 6. Support and Networking Ronnie Vernooy, Bhuwon Sthapit and Pitambar Shrestha 7. Policy and Legal Environment Ronnie Vernooy, Pitambar Shrestha and Bhuwon Sthapit 8. Sustainability Pitambar Shrestha, Bhuwon Sthapit and Ronnie Vernooy Part 2: Case Studies from Around the World 9. Bangladesh: the Mamudpur Nayakrishi Seed Hut M. A. Sobhan, Jahangir Alam Jony, Rabiul Islam Chunnu and Fahima Khatun Liza 10. Bhutan: the Bumthang Community Seed Bank Asta Tamang and Gaylong Dukpa 11. Bolivia: Community Seed Banks in the Lake Titicaca Area Milton Pinto, Juana Flores Ticona and Wilfredo Rojas 12. Brazil: Gene Banks, Seed Banks and Local Seed Guardians Terezinha Aparecia Borges Dias, Irajá Ferreira Antunes, Ubiratan Piovezan, Fabio de Oliveira Freitas, Marcia Maciel, Gilberto A. P. Bevilaqua, Nadi Rabelo dos Santos and Cristiane Tavares Feijó 13. Brazil: the Minas Gerais Seed Houses for Conservation in Times of Climate Crisis Anna Crystina Alvarenga and Carlos Alberto Dayrell 14. Canada: the Toronto Seed Library Katie Berger, Jacob Kearey-Moreland and Brendan Behrmann 15. China: The Xiding Gene Bank in Yunnan Yang Yayun, Zhang Enlai, Devra Jarvis, Bai Keyu, Dong Chao, A. Xinxiang, Tang Cuifeng, Zhang Feifei, Xu Furong and Dai Luyuan 16. Costa Rica: Unión de Semilleros del Sur Flor Ivette Elizondo Porras, Rodolfo Araya Villalobos, Juan Carlos Hernández Fonseca and Karolina Martínez Umaña 17. Guatemala: Community Seed Reserves Restore Maize Diversity Gea Galluzzi and Isabel Lapeña 18. India: Community Seed Banks and Empowering Tribal Communities in the Kolli Hills E. D. Israel Oliver King, N. Kumar and Stefano Padulosi 19. India: From Community Seed Banks to Community Seed Enterprises G. V. Ramanjaneyulu, G. Rajshekar and K. Radha Rani 20. Malaysia: Exploring the Utility of a Community Seed Bank in Sarawak Paul Bordoni and Toby Hodgkin 21. Mali: An Overview of Community Seed and Gene Banks Amadou Sidibe, Raymond S. Vodouhe and Sognigbe N’Danikou 22. Mali: The USC Canada-supported Gene and Seed Banks of the Mopti Region Abdrahamane Goïta, Hamadoun Bore, Mariam Sy Ouologueme and Ada Hamadoun Dicko 23. Mexico: Community Seed Banks in Oaxaca Flavio Aragón-Cuevas 24. Nepal: the Historical Dalchowki Community Seed Bank Bharat Bhandari, Surya Thapa, Krishna Sanjel and Pratap Shrestha 25. Nepal: the Community Seed Bank in Tamaphok Dilli Jimi, Manisha Jimi and Pitambar Shrestha 26. Nicaragua: La Labranza No. 2 Community Seed Bank — ‘We are a Network’ Jorge Iran Vásquez Zeledón 27. Rwanda: the Rubaya Community Gene Bank Leonidas Dusengemungu, Theophile Ndacyayisenga, Gloria Otieno, Antoine Ruzindana Nyirigira and Jean Rwihaniza Gapusi 28. Sri Lanka: The Haritha Udana Community Seed Bank in Kanthale C. L. K. Wakkumbure and K. M. G. P. Kumarasinghe 29. Trinidad and Tobago: SJ Seed Savers Jaeson Teeluck and Satie Boodoo 30. Uganda: The Kiziba Community Gene Bank Mulumba John Wasswa, Rose Nankya, Catherine Kiwuka, Joyce Adokorach, Gloria Otieno, Marjorie Kyomugisha, Carlo Fadda and Devra I. Jarvis 31. United States of America: Native Seeds/SEARCH Chris Schmidt 32. Burundi: Community Seed Banks and the Welthungerhilfe Program in Kirundo Christian Ngendabanka, Godefroid Niyonkuru, Lucien D’Hooghe and Thomas Marx 33. Honduras: Community Seed Banks Established by Local Agricultural Research Committees Orvill Omar Gallardo Guzmán, Carlos Antonio Ávila Andino, Marvin Joel Gómez Cerna, Mainor Guillermo Pavón Hernández and Gea Galluzzi 34. Nepal: LI-BIRD’s Approach to Supporting Community Seed Banks Pitambar Shrestha and Sajal Sthapit 35. Norway’s Development Fund: Supporting Community Seed Banking Practices Teshome Hunduma and Rosalba Ortiz 36. Spain: The Seed Network, Resembrando e Intercambiando Members of the Red de Semillas 37. USC Canada’s Experience in Supporting Community Seed Banks in Africa, Asia and the Americas Sarah Paule Dalle and Susan Walsh 38. Zimbabwe: the Experience of the Community Technology Development Trust Andrew T. Mushita, Patrick Kasasa and Hilton Mbozi 39. Brazil: Community Seed Banks and Brazilian Laws Juliana Santilli 40. The Role of Community Seed Banks in Adaptation to Climate Change in Mesoamerica Gea Galluzzi, Evert Thomas, Maarten van Zonneveld, Jacob van Etten and Marleni Ramirez 41. Nepal: Government Policies and Laws Related to Community Seed Banks Pashupati Chaudhary, Rachana Devkota, Deepak Upadhyay and Kamal Khadka 42: Community Seed Banks in Mexico: An In Situ Conservation Strategy Karina Sandibel Vera Sánchez, Rosalinda González Santos and Flavio Aragón-Cuevas 43. South Africa: a New Beginning for Community Seed Banks Ronnie Vernooy, Bhuwon Sthapit, Mabjang Angeline Dibiloane, Nkat Lettie Maluleke Tovhowani Mukoma and Thabo Tjikana 44. Epilogue: Visions of the Future Ronnie Vernooy, Bhuwon Sthapit and Pitambar Shrestha

Ronnie Vernooy is a Genetic Resources Policy Specialist at Bioversity International, Rome, Italy.

Pitambar Shrestha is a Program Officer with Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD), Pokhara, Nepal.

Bhuwon Sthapit is a Senior Scientist and Regional Project Coordinator for Bioversity International, based in Pokhara, Nepal.