In Kerala, agri-food systems are in transition towards self-reliance and sustainability. Through bringing traditional gardening into the mainstream food agenda, and adopting technologies and practices like agroecology, growers and consumers in Kerala are trying to overcome the impacts of external food dependency and related vulnerabilities. Debates on sustainable food systems are still largely trapped in…
How Kerala is making the transition towards healthy, home-grown food
Could new alliances for seeds in Argentina be a way to nurture agricultural diversity?
Over the last three decades there has been an unprecedented process of concentration in world and regional seed markets. Seed R&D has shifted from being widely distributed over hundreds of medium and large seed firms and public sector institution to being heavily concentrated in just five or six multinational agro-chemical firms.
Who owns our seeds? Video ‘Intellectual Property and Seeds’ explains the issues
Limiting access to seeds means limiting food production and access, and putting biodiversity at risk. This video explains the importance of intellectual property for seeds. It was produced by STEPS America Latina to inform debates in Argentina about the corporate control and patenting of seeds. The topic is addressed by the Argentina team in the…
India’s seed sector is flourishing. Could African farmers benefit?
Africa’s farmers need quality seeds but the seed sector in Africa has often struggled to meet this need. The continent’s share in the global seed trade is very low, seed markets often aren’t supported, and the supply of quality seeds and improved crop varieties is weak. Poor seed supply threatens agriculture’s ability to play its…
Sharing the Open Source Seed Initiative at STEPS América Latina
by Claire Luby, Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) Claire Luby presented her work at the STEPS América Latina launch event in November 2015, as part of a panel on ‘horizontal innovations towards sustainability’. In this blogpost, Claire reflects on the impacts of property regimes on plant diversity, and what OSSI is doing to promote a…
Seed Laws… Government Advocacy and Grassroots Action
By Adrian Ely, Anabel Marin and Sam Geall Research at the STEPS Centre addresses sustainable development challenges that are felt both globally and locally. Over the last two months three events have reinforced the international linkages within our work, illustrating the interconnectedness and similarity of diverse efforts of researchers and civil society groups across the…
Reconsideración de la normativa: las semillas y las drogas en China y Argentina
En inglés Pagina en español (pdf 98kb) Reconsideración de la normativa El proyecto compara la normativa de dos tecnologías – las semillas de algodón y los antibióticos transgénicos – con el modo en que las comunidades más pobres del medio rural de Argentina y China experimentan con estas tecnologías. Utilizaremos los hallazgos de estos estudios…
Rethinking regulation in China: decisions facing farmers
By ADRIAN ELY, STEPS Centre member See more photos from this project on our Flickr site The oilseed flowering season is almost over in central China, and cotton planting has started. Farmers first grow seedlings in nursery patches on the sides of their fields, before transplanting to a larger area after oilseed has been harvested….
Rethinking regulation in China: Zhang’s seed shop
By ADRIAN ELY, STEPS Centre member See more photos from this project on our Flickr site China’s new rural development campaign (Xīnnóngcúndianshi) was initiated in 2003 and has reshaped the agricultural sector in Hubei. Reductions in the public sector workforce led to redundancies in the central Chinese province, motivating several extension workers to move into…