So what's the problem?
For millions of smallholder farmers all over the world, their choice of which seed to plant at the start of the growing season can be crucial. High quality, seeds of pest-resistant varieties produce higher yields, but not all farmers are able to access varieties that are best suited to their environment.
What is this project doing?
The Good Seed Initiative focesed on improving the livelihoods of food-insecure farming households through the production, selection and marketing of high-quality, farmer-saved seed. Funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, CABI implemented this programme to promote farmers’ rights as both the protectors and beneficiaries of agricultural seed biodiversity. In Bangladesh, a series of videos have been co-produced by CABI and shown to over 100,000 female farmers. In these videos local women explain and demonstrate how to produce, select and store high quality rice seed (the sorting and storing of seeds is traditionally done by women in developing countries). Women who watched the video were inspired to adopt the practises that were being recommended.
Results so far
Project reports
Project flyerProject flyer - Africa
Project Executive
Elizabeth Dodsworth
Address: Nosworthy Way, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX108DE, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1491 829473
Email: e.dodsworth@cabi.org
Project Manager
Steven Edgington
Address: Bakeham Lane, Egham, Surrey, TW209TY, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1491 829004
Email: s.edgington@cabi.org
Project Team
Daniel Karanja
Address: ICRAF Complex, United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, P.O. Box 633-00621, Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254 (0)20 7224462
Email: d.karanja@cabi.org
Project Development Officer
Janet Stewart
Tel: +44 (0)1491 829464
Email: j.stewart@cabi.org
Senior User
Sean T Murphy
Tel: +44 (0)1491 829071
Email: s.murphy@cabi.org
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Suggested books
Organic Farming
by W Lockeretz
21 March 2011
Paperback / 9781845938765 / £35.00 / $70.00 / €45.00
Sustainable Livestock Management For Poverty Alleviation and Food Security
by D Bhandari, K van't Hooft, T Wollen
04 April 2012
Hardback / 9781845938277 / £75.00 / $145.00 / €100.00
Experimental Statistics for Agriculture and Horticulture
by C Ireland
04 October 2010
Paperback / 9781845935375 / £39.95 / $75.00 / €50.00
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