Strategies to Build Viable Community Seed System in Dry land Ecosystems for Sustainable Seed and Food Security in India

Tonapi, V A and Ravinder Reddy, Ch and Prasad, S R and Tomar, B S and Singh, Sanjay and Pandey, S and Natarajan, S and Lal, S K (2012) Strategies to Build Viable Community Seed System in Dry land Ecosystems for Sustainable Seed and Food Security in India. Directorate of Seed Research, Village: Kushmaur, PO : Kaithauli, Mau 275 101 (UP), INDIA.

PDF - Published Version Restricted to ICRISAT users only Download (2MB) | Request a copy

Abstract

To make available and affordable good quality seed at the right time requires a well functioning seed supply system. This in turn will help to ensure seed security and enhancing productivity in dryland areas. Given the critical role that improved varieties can potentially play in increasing the production of conventional cropping systems, developing an integrated and effective seed system capable of generating and delivering improved seed varieties in a cost-effective ways is a challenge. Farmers' seed systems in agrarian communities have stood the test oftime to enable evolution of modern agriculture. Thus the informal seed sector has ensured conservation of agro-bio-diyersity, at the gene, ecosystem, and farmer levels to ensure food security. A relatively recent analysis has led to an understanding of the crucial role that women have played in sustaining the informal seed sector, and more widely, in ensuring food security. However, this sector is solely dependent on local resources and inputs, and seed supply is highly vulnerable to disaster and socio-political disruptions. Sowing the seeds of innovation therefore assumes great urgency if one is to strengthen local seed systems. While the hybrid seed industry led by the private sector in formal seed systems has focused on profit-making species and crops, the informal sector has concentrated on those crops and seed systems which underpin local food production, mainly those predominantly self pollinating and open pollinated. Given this scenario, national seed policies must devote more effort to sustaining and strengthening the informal seed sector. Most of the international support to strengthening seed systems focuses on the formal seed sector; the time has come for matching support to the informal sector.

Item Type:	Book
Divisions:	UNSPECIFIED
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Subjects:	Others > Oilseeds Others > Food and Nutrition
Depositing User:	Mr B K Murthy
Date Deposited:	29 Jan 2015 04:08
Last Modified:	29 Jan 2015 04:08
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/8501
Acknowledgement:	UNSPECIFIED
Links:	Google Scholar

View Statistics

Actions (login required)

View Item