Self-Reliance and Self-Sufficiency
Networks of decentralized community seed banks could support agricultural productivity and resilience among ISKCON and non-ISKCON devotee farm communities. Community seed banks (CSBs) primarily serve to maintain seeds for local use and strengthen local seed systems. These mostly informal institutions are locally governed and managed.
This brief essay examines the potential role of CSBs in enhancing seed security and diversity. We draw lessons from the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, located in the western part of Guatemala. Although this region is an important area of maize diversity, it is not suitable for intensive crop cultivation. Subsistence-based smallholdings with low levels of production predominate. Unfavorable local conditions pose serious challenges to farm productivity.
As in other developing countries, Guatemalan farmers are abandoning their livelihood in pursuit of opportunities outside of agriculture. Maize production is declining in the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, as individuals who continue to farm increasingly shift to a more market-oriented agriculture. The availability of low-priced maize on local markets, coupled with more diverse income sources, has reduced the importance of self-sufficiency in key food staples. These socio-economic trends, though beneficial in some respects, have led to the loss of some traditional plant varieties.
Farmers typically set aside a portion of their harvest to provide seeds for the following year’s crop. Unfortunately, climate change and extreme weather outcomes have exacerbated the risks inherent in agriculture, adversely impacted local production systems, and reduced farmers’ supply of indigenous seeds. Weakening local seed systems have forced farmers to rely more on commercial, rather than traditional strains. Local traditional knowledge has been lost, to the detriment of the short and long-term food and nutrition security of the region.
An important preliminary step toward the preservation of plant genetic resources entailed assessing the range of agrobiodiversity in the region. A Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) program collected and characterized wild relatives of maize and rare varieties. In addition, farmers were trained in stratified seed selection for beans and maize, which gradually improved the performance of local varieties.
Farmers have incentives to join the community seed bank (CSB) because members are given a certain amount of these improved seed varieties before planting time. After their harvest, farmers are required to give back the same amount of seed to the CSB, so that the new seed varieties can be disseminated within the community.
CSBs expanded the scope of their activities by providing two additional services: (1) conservation of private seeds and (2) provision of seed in emergency situations.
CSBs built seed storage facilities where temperature and humidity are controlled and seed quality is regularly monitored. Farmers are permitted to store their private seed at the CSB. Seeds have a better germination rate when stored in a quality-controlled environment. Moreover, the CSB storage space gives farmers a good place to keep any excess seed production, over and above the amount they need for the following year’s planting.
In emergency situations, farmers can withdraw up to 75% of their seeds, leaving the remainder for the next growing season. In addition to the conservation of private seeds, CSBs store locally adapted high-quality seeds in large silos. When extreme events occur, CSBs can react quickly by distributing these indigenous seeds to farmers, thereby ensuring food security while conserving local biodiversity.
The insights presented in this essay are applicable to Vaishnava farm communities. A strong agricultural base begins with high-quality, locally adapted seed varieties that comport with the spiritual values of Vaishnava farmers. In Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, Guatemala, seed banks worked in conjunction with programs for identifying, preserving, and breeding native cultivars that meet the food needs of subsistence farmers.
Food sovereignty begins with seed sovereignty. Straightforward selective plant breeding, combined with accurate record-keeping and the expansion of devotee seed banks/libraries, are important foundations for vibrant Vaishnava farm communities. Commercial crop varieties, which have been developed to serve the needs of meat industries, are not appropriate for ISKCON and future non-ISKCON devotee agricultural centers. This is particularly true for commercial seeds that cannot be re-planted because they have been genetically engineered to possess “terminator technology”.
Farmers are realizing that the seed varieties they once cultivated, saved, but then abandoned decades ago are the very varieties that they now need to cope with harsher growing conditions associated with climate change. By developing the capacity to adapt, produce, and store seeds internally, Vaishnava agricultural centers will be better positioned to withstand future shocks to global food systems.
Further Reading
Seed Libraries: Vaishnava Agriculture
Plant Breeding: Vaishnava Agriculture
Biodiversity: Vaishnava Agriculture
Heirloom Seeds: Vaishnava Agriculture