Banking for the future: - Third World Network

13There has been a general shift from using traditional varietiesbecause they are late maturing and low yielding compared toimproved varieties. This shift has been compounded by themany programmes that promote modern varieties such as theFarmer Input Support programme, which provides subsidisedhybrid seed and fertilisers. Even the community seed banks ofthe seed growers associations tend to promote only the use ofimproved varieties.Seed fairs promote seed diversity in ZimbabweIn 1991/1992 a severe drought contributed to geneticerosion in Zimbabwe’s agriculture. As a response, the NGOCommunity Technology Development Trust (CTDT)set up community seed banks in close consultation withcommunities. These were to provide back-up facilities forfarmers’ varieties, capture traditional knowledge and enablefarmers’ access to local seeds of reasonable quality.One such bank is The Uzumba Maramba PfungweCommunity Seed Bank, established in 1998. It is locatedin a semi-arid area and serves four different administrativeareas. There are two rooms in the building constructed tobe relatively cool, maintaining a temperature ideal for seedstorage. Seeds brought to the bank undergo a thoroughcleaning process, to rid the seeds of pests and diseases.Germination tests are conducted every two years to assessseed viability. Seeds with low germination percentages areregenerated.The Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe Community Seed Bank ismanaged by farmers. The community elects a managementcommittee responsible for the coordination and managementof all activities. Both CTDT and the government’s agriculturalextension services provide technical assistance and capacitybuilding to farmers. The National Gene Bank also collaboratesby providing materials and seeds to the bank as well astechnical management.Collection and cleaning of seeds are done by individualhouseholds and farmers who have been capacitated in seedhandling. Because of socio-economic and cultural normsand values, women play an important role in communalfarming and are therefore largely contributing through seedselection in the fields, cleaning and bringing seeds to thecommunity seed bank as well as participating at seed fairs.Youth participation is minimal; only a few are engaged inconservation bring their seeds to the bank. Many youngpeople are not interested in farming and many have moved tocities looking for employment.The community seed bank functions as a meeting place forfarmers to exchange information and local knowledge on cropgenetic diversity. In order to increase awareness, seed fairsare conducted at the community seed bank every year andat national level biannually. These fairs provide an additionalmeeting forum for farmers. They also enable communitiesto evaluate the level of diversity and to assess and monitorgenetic erosion.Chapter IV: Arguing the case forcommunity seed banksAs can be seen from the previous chapter, different forms ofcommunity seed banking practices are being promoted indifferent countries. Some are highly specialised in collection,regeneration, distribution and maintenance of local cropdiversity and documentation of associated information andtraditional knowledge. Others are engaged in production andmarketing of seeds of improved farmers’ varieties. The presentchapter sums up the lessons learned from the cases examinedand presents some current and future challenges.Why are community seed banks established?Most community seed banks in the presented case countrieshave been established to combat seed insecurity. Suchinsecurity is mainly due to drought causing crop failure(e.g. in Ethiopia and Zambia), flood and cyclones (e.g. inBangladesh) and introduction of modern varieties andpolicies promoting it through subsidies or by other means(e.g. in India, Nepal, Thailand, and Zimbabwe). Modernvarieties are increasingly replacing traditional ones. They areexpensive for small scale farmers and hence inaccessible. Inaddition, in the cases examined, introduced modern varietieshave not met local needs and thus have failed to adapt. Thisfailure is particularly evident in the case of irrigated andpaddy rice growing areas in India, Nepal and Thailand, aswell as in growing areas for maize in Zimbabwe and maizeand beans in Honduras. In the case of Zambia, focus ontraditional varieties is almost non-existent. Here, communityseed banks mainly provide improved varieties; the issue ofconservation is not taken into consideration in bank practiceand management.In some countries (e.g. Costa Rica) the motivation behindthe seed bank is for marketing high quality seeds of improvedfarmers’ varieties and modern varieties at community level.This differs from the “traditional” goals of community seedbanks: addressing the challenges of seed insecurity in timesof shortage and human and nature induced calamities, inaddition to on-farm conservation of crop genetic diversity.Who are involved?Farmers are the primary stakeholders in the community seedbanks approach for management of agricultural biodiversity.Their knowledge of agro ecosystems, crops and varieties, havebeen central in the management of community seed banks.Farmers have elected committees to manage the seed banks(e.g. in Ethiopia), while in Costa Rica and Zambia farmerswere organised in seed producing associations.Images opposite side:1. Seeds at display in India. Photo: Green Foundation.2. Seed storage in India. Photo: Green Foundation.3. Traditional storing of rice seeds, taro cormel and potato tubers incommunity seed bank in Gadariya, Nepal. Photo: LI-BIRD