Policy recommendations from DIVERSIFOOD to embed agrobiodiversity in European seed systems: promote Community Agrobiodiversity Management, support community seed banks, establish national PGRFA platforms, and harmonise seed laws.
Community Seed Banks
Community Seed Banks: sharing experiences from North and South
Report (side event, 1 Nov 2017) summarising global experiences with community seed banks, a DIVERSIFOOD European survey, case studies (Japan, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Nepal), sustainability factors and Governing Body decisions on Farmers’ Rights.
Community Biodiversity Management: dialogue between representatives of Community Seed Banks and international institutions – report from the workshop held on 22 September 2017 at FAO HQ, Rome
Report of a 22 Sept 2017 FAO workshop (DIVERSIFOOD/Bioversity/ITPGRFA) summarising CSB roles, case studies and a SWOT: CSBs are vital for dynamic conservation, access to local seed and participatory breeding but need policy recognition, funding and capacity.
DIVERSIFOOD Report: Community Seed Banks in Europe
Report of a DIVERSIFOOD survey and Rome workshop (Sept 2017) mapping 84 European community seed banks: their diversity, activities (conservation, seed exchange, training, PPB), challenges (funding, capacity, regulation) and strategies (networking, advocacy).
Strengthening the economic sustainability of community seed banks. A sustainable approach to enhance agrobiodiversity in the production systems in low-income countries
Discusses how community seed banks can conserve local varieties and improve agrobiodiversity by enhancing economic sustainability through legal recognition, market integration, partnerships and financing models.
Community Seed Banks: access to germplasm and benefit sharing models
Manual explaining international and EU frameworks (CBD/Nagoya, ITPGRFA), practical ABS tools (SMTA/Easy-SMTA) and scenarios for how Community Seed Banks and farmers can access, share and manage germplasm.
Community Seed Banks: Documentation systems — a tool for data and information management (Manual 2)
Practical manual for Community Seed Banks on setting up documentation systems: descriptors, forms, databases, data exchange, management, software and a European case example (Pro Specie Rara).
Community Seed Banks — Establishment, management and governance (Manual 1)
Practical manual offering step‑by‑step guidance on establishing, managing and governing community seed banks in Europe, covering technical, organisational and outreach aspects.
Contribution of Community Seed Banks to farmer seed systems and food security in Northern and Central Malawi
Survey and climate-data analysis in Malawi (688 households, 1,600 plots) finds CSBs supply ~1/3 of seeds for participants, are linked to better household food security, show mixed effects on crop yields, and correlate with climate-shock exposure.
Community Seed Banks in China: Achievements, Challenges and Prospects
Systematic review of 27 community seed banks in China (2020), expanding the conceptual framework with two new functions, presenting three cases, and giving practical policy recommendations to strengthen seed systems.
