In 2005, the first community seed banks were established in Mexico, as part of the national strategy for in situ conservation and to support farmers in areas exposed to natural disasters. The first to be established were the community seed banks in Oaxaca and those of the Seed Basket Network; today there are 25 community seed banks in the country.
All community seed banks are integrated into the network of conservation centres of the National System of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (SINAREFI), coordinated by the national seed inspection and certification service.
Currently, seven researchers from these two institutions contribute to coordinating the operation of the banks in collaboration with 663 producers.
The main functions of the community seed banks are
- to preserve local diversity in situ;
- to select seed in the field during each crop cycle and to ensure the availability of seed for subsequent cycles;
- to promote seed exchange between member and non-member farmers in the banks;
- producing seed of threatened or endangered varieties;
- participate in seed fairs organized at the local, state and national levels;
- participate as an assistant or instructor in training events on seed conservation and reproduction;
- maintain a seed inventory to ensure crop recovery after natural disasters.
Due to the great diversity of crops in Mexico, seed banks hold a large number of species, although their emphasis is on the predominant crops of small family farms, or milpas, (corn, beans, cucurbits, peppers, etc.). The Seed Basket Network banks are part of an initiative to promote organic agriculture. They work with both native and introduced horticultural crops to ensure that communities are self-sufficient in food diversity. Participants are involved in plant breeding practices and productivity of preserved crops.
Source: https://www.bioversityinternational.org/fileadmin/user_upload/BANCOS_COMUNITARIOS_DE_SEMILLAS_Vernooy.pdf
- Regulating
- Kick-starting
- Local institution
- Peasant movement, Peasant organisation