Seed Sovereignty

ACB’s seed sovereignty work seeks to resist commercial seed laws and policies that threaten smallholder farmers’ critical role in maintaining, adapting and reproducing agricultural biodiversity, and farmers’ rights associated with recognition of this role, which are included in global legal agreements. Plant variety protection (PVP) laws impose exclusive ownership rights onto genetic resources.

SEED LAWS AND POLICIES

Seed laws that deal with quality control and seed trade are tailored to the needs of commercial seed producers. Farmer seed systems, incorporating the majority of crops and varieties produced on the African continent and beyond, are not recognised by these laws, and long-standing practices may even be criminalised.

FARMER SEED SYSTEMS

We work in extensive multi-stakeholder networks, involving farmer associations, civil society and the public sector, to promote and advocate for greater public sector and donor support to recognise, strengthen and expand farmer seed systems and practices. We have, and continue to, play a key role in mobilising resistance to harmonised seed and plant variety protection laws, which favour corporate interests and pose a direct threat to farmers’ rights to save, reuse, enhance, exchange and sell seed, at international, regional and local level.