Farmer Seed Stewardship Initiative

Farmer Seed Stewardship Initiative promotes farmers engagement in seed systems – training farmers in seed production and crop improvement, and advocating for farmers’ ability to save, improve, and plant the seed they need.

For more than ten thousand years – through the simple act of observation, selection and seed saving – farmers have been the primary innovators and stewards of seed. Over the last thirty years farmer engagement in seed has been significantly reduced. We’ve lost centuries of traditional knowledge in a single generation, divorcing farmers from their longstanding relationship with seed. Seed Matters’ partnership with Organic Seed Alliance works to reverse these trends, providing education, advocacy, and outreach that elevates and increases farmers’ roles and skills as seed innovators.