30/03/2015

More than 150 farmers and their families have received direct support from the Benefit-sharing Fund of the International Treaty for the adoption of good management practices for the conservation and use of maize and bean varieties through the establishment of a network of community seed bank.

The project, which has impacted approximately 1340 families in five communities, has worked with small farmers engaged in rain-fed agricultural practices for the adoption of new adaptation and mitigation strategies to safeguard their local seeds and their livelihoods.

The project has involved strengthening local associations of farmers, including women farmers, and started with the establishment of a local network to assess the storage practices, the availability of seed and the sowing practices, as well as the information on and perception of the negative impact of climate change.

The project, supported with funds from Benefit-sharing Fund of the International Treaty and implemented by the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, focused on the documentation and conservation of genetic diversity of maize and beans and provided training, capacity building and networking capacity. This project contributed to the elaboration of the Strategic action plan to strengthen conservation and use of the Mesoamerican PGRFA, also funded by the International Treaty.

In-situ Conservation Index

One of the main outcomes of the project has been the establishment of five community seed banks (Chiquimula, Zacapa, Alta Verapaz, Sololá) and the creation of an index for in-situ conserved varieties present in farmers’ fields. With the support of the seed bank and with the collaboration of partners like the Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology (ICTA) of Guatemala, local farmers have identified and characterized 44 varieties of maize and beans. These varieties have also been analyzed and studied by scientists and breeders who helped identify useful and native traits.

The activities of the project also resulted in the development of a manual for community seed bank handling. The sustainability of the seed banks have been reinforced through the establishment of key partnerships with several local and national institutions.

The partners are finalizing the publication of a large amount of data collected, including photographs of the varieties and the annotations made by farmers and researchers on their useful adaptation traits and on their local management, which will be made available through the Global Information System of the International Treaty.

Of the 44 varieties evaluated, eight of yellow, red and black maize and six of beans will soon be included in the Multilateral system of the Treaty.