Biodiversity for food and agriculture is among the earth’s most important resources. Thousands of species and their genetic variability make up the web of life and are indispensable to adapt to new conditions, including climate change. The Commission on Genetic...

On September 2017, was organized the International Workshop on Community Seed Banks at FAO headquarters, Rome, Italy. This event was co-organised by the International Treaty on Plant Genetics Resources for Food and Agriculture and the Rete Semi Rurali (the Italian Seed...

The broad range of genetic diversity existing in Africa, particularly in traditional and wild gene pools, is presently subject to serious genetic erosion and irreversible losses. This threat, which involves the interaction of several factors, is progressing at an alarming...

South Africa’s Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, with technical assistance from Bioversity International provided under the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets, has begun to support community seed banks. The objective is to help local smallholder communities...

The TheruBeedi Seed Bank and Producer Group facilitate informal benefit sharing mechanisms that can be very effective in protecting biodiversity and encouraging farmers to contribute to the genetic pool. The approaches include offering family farmers incentives to cultivate traditional or...