Based on a conversation.
What is your personal connection to seed saving and local seeds?
My work has focused on participatory plant breeding and seed systems across eight countries, mostly through Oxfam Novib. We prioritize minor and local food crops that are often overlooked by formal breeding programs. These crops are essential for local diets, especially in marginalized communities, and are often managed by women. My role has involved training, coordination, and policy advocacy to ensure these crops and their seed systems are supported.
How is your project structured?
We work through a network that connects farmer field schools and community groups, NGOs or government partners for technical support, and, where possible, formal research institutions. This structure helps ensure long-term sustainability for breeding work and legitimacy within national systems.
Each participatory plant breeding initiative begins with crop and variety evaluations. We use diagnostic tools like the diversity wheel to align breeding priorities with community needs. Communities then improve local varieties or cross them with improved lines, often over multiple seasons. The work is community-driven and reflects both local knowledge and scientific input.
What has worked well to engage your community?
I’m proud of the progress we’ve made influencing policy in countries like Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Nepal, and Laos. Our efforts have opened legal pathways for the recognition of farmer varieties and the reform of colonial-era seed laws. We’ve also made strides in reintroducing neglected crops like sorghum and millets, often starting from scratch with gene bank materials.
Another success has been empowering farmers to make informed choices by testing local, improved, and hybrid varieties under their own conditions. This process has led to greater seed sovereignty and more resilient cropping systems.
What are your biggest challenges in seed saving work and local seeds?
One major challenge is the restrictive legal and institutional frameworks that govern seeds. For example, in some countries, producing seed requires a master’s degree or access to large tracts of land—barriers that exclude most small farmers.
Breeding work is also long-term and resource-intensive. NGOs typically lack the infrastructure and funding to maintain varieties over time. Building collaboration with formal research institutes is difficult but necessary for broader impact.
Another issue is the “variety mentality”—the idea that only stable, uniform varieties have value. This mindset makes it harder to promote population varieties or evolutionary breeding approaches.
What resources or support would make your work more effective?
Shared tools and guides, like seed-saving kits or crop-specific resources, could support expansion and training. Films and storytelling projects that highlight farmer-led breeding and adaptation to climate change could also boost awareness and engagement.
Funding for in-person exchanges and compensation for community experts would make a big difference. Also, clearer pathways for collaboration across organizations working on seed sovereignty would help scale impact.
What do you think is missing from the current local seeds / seed sovereignty space?
There’s a serious lack of communication and collaboration among groups working on similar issues. Many networks are siloed, and while everyone wants to collaborate, structural differences in scale and focus make it hard.
Shared policy updates, funding opportunities, and methodological tools could create a foundation for greater alignment without forcing uniformity.
How would you envision an ideal national movement for local seeds?
In a successful movement, farmers would have real choices and control over their seeds. Diversity would be central, not just in genetics but in approaches and institutions. Laws would support farmer varieties and decentralized breeding, and collaboration would span grassroots networks to international donors and policymakers.
What would you do if you had a magic wand or had a million dollars?
I’d fund face-to-face collaboration—across regions, languages, and sectors. These exchanges build trust and fuel innovation. I’d also invest in communication materials and methods that help communities share their priorities and successes more broadly.
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Although I’m leaving Oxfam Novib, I remain deeply committed to this work. I hope to continue contributing through real-life farming and collaboration with networks focused on seed sovereignty and agroecology.