Seed security

One year after the 1996 World Food Summit, the FAO organized an International Workshop on Seed Security for Food Security. During this workshop, it was formally recognized that farmers’ ability to safeguard and secure their seed stocks and different plant varieties is of critical importance to food security.{{Cite book |url=https://www.fao.org/4/aj582e/aj582e.pdf |title=Developing Seed Security Strategies and Programmes for Food Security in Developing Countries |date=1999 |publisher=FAO, CGRFA |location=Rome |type=Position Paper presented to the “International Workshop on Seed Security for Food Security”, Florence, Italy, 30 November-1 December 1997}} The connection between seed security and food security was highlighted, particularly in countries where subsistence agriculture predominates.

The seed security framework was later designed by Tom Remington, based on the food security framework parallel, and submitted in 1998 in a report to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).{{Cite book |last=Tom Remington |title=Increasing the effectiveness of emergency seed aid programs in enhancing seed security in the Greater Hon of Africa: a project proposal, First submitted to USAID/OFDA |date=1998}} This work was further refined and published in 2002 in a refereed article by Catholic Relief Services.{{Cite journal |last=Tom Remington |last2=Jeremiah Maroko |last3=Stephen Walsh |last4=Paul Omanga |last5=Edward Charles |date=2002 |title=Getting of the seeds-and-tools treadmill with CRS seed vouchers and fairs |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12518508/ |journal=Disasters |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=316–328 |doi=10.1111/1467-7717.00209 |pmid=12518508}} The objective was to develop an assessment methodology to enhance the effectiveness of humanitarian aid. The seed security framework was designed to help humanitarian actors—including donors, aid agencies, and other stakeholders—diagnose and evaluate the seed requirements of farming communities affected by disasters.

The work on the seed security framework was notably extended by Louise Sperling and H. David Cooper in a reference document published in 2004 for a FAO workshop on improving the effectiveness and sustainability of seed aid.{{Cite book |last1=Louise Sperling |url=http://ciat-library.ciat.cgiar.org/ciat_digital/CIAT/65651.pdf |title=Understanding Seed Systems and Strengthening Seed Security: A Background Paper |last2=H. David Cooper |date=2004 |publisher=FAO |location=Rome |access-date=}} In this report, the authors reflect on the advantages and limitations of the framework in facilitating appropriate seed assistance interventions. They also distinguish between acute and chronic seed insecurity.

Louise Sperling and Shawn McGuire have practically used this seed security framework in a score of assessments to identify specific constraints on the ground in high stress situations.{{Cite news |title=Field Assessments Around the World |url=https://seedsystem.org/field-assessments-action-plans/ |work=SeedSystem}}

The seed security framework consists of four key parameters: availability, accessibility, quality and suitability. These parameters evolve over time and are interconnected.

Seed availability refers to the quantity of seeds in a given area, within a reasonable distance from farms, and available at critical times for sowing periods. This parameter encompasses both the spatial availability of seeds and their temporal availability, in line with the planting schedule (before, at the start of, during, or late in the planting season).

Seed accessibility is defined as the ability to acquire seeds through cash purchase, exchange, barter, loans, or by leveraging one's status or influence within a social network. It depends on whether individuals or groups have adequate income or other resources to obtain appropriate seeds and whether they have physical access to diverse seed sources.

Seed quality is evaluated through several attributes, including germination rate, physical purity, moisture content, and overall seed health. While seed quality can be assessed objectively, it also depends on farmers' perceptions and experiences. High-quality seeds must be physically sound, physiologically viable, and free from pests and diseases.

Suitability refers to the ability to obtain seeds of adapted and preferred varieties that align with the needs of both women and men farmers. The desired characteristics may vary from one household to another or from one locality to another, but they often relate to aspects such as appearance, taste, aroma, cooking quality, and the economic return from the associated crop.

Seed insecurity can be caused by natural disasters such as droughts, floods, earthquakes and typhoons, which destroy farmers’ fields as well as their other sources of seed supply. The consequences of these disasters are particularly severe in developing countries, where a significant portion of the population conserves part of their harvest to ensure their seed supply for the next planting season. In these countries, many farmers cannot afford to buy commercial seeds on the official market, due to factors such as high seed prices, limited access to markets, and a reliance on traditional seed-saving practices.

Seed insecurity can also result from wars and civil conflicts.{{Cite book |url=https://vmt2d4.p3cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/CAT_Final_English-copy.pdf |title=Seed systems in conflict-affected areas. Context Analysis Tool |date=2024 |publisher=SeedSystem, ISSD Africa and Mercy Corps}} Although international humanitarian law prohibits the use of starvation as a weapon of war—including the deliberate destruction of objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population—such violations are common. As a result, farming communities are looted, their fields destroyed, and they face critical seed shortages as the planting season approaches, jeopardizing future harvests.

Today, seeds represent a significant portion of humanitarian aid provided in emergency contexts. In addition to food aid, emergency seed aid helps restore the livelihoods of populations affected by disasters or conflicts and supports the recovery of agricultural systems in affected areas.

To effectively intervene in fragile states, donors, humanitarian agencies, and other stakeholders strive to assess seed systems holistically. Emergency seed aid relies on a structured evaluation method known as the Seed Systems Security Assessment (SSSA), developed by experts to ensure a comprehensive understanding of seed system vulnerabilities and needs,.{{Cite book |last=Louise Sperling |url=https://seedsystem.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/sssa_manual_ciat.pdf |title=When the disaster strikes. A guide to assessing Seed System Security |date=2008 |publisher=CIAT, CRS, USAID |location=Cali, Colombia}}{{Cite journal |last1=Karri Goeldner Byrne |last2=Julie March |last3=Shawn McGuire |last4=Laura Meissner |last5=Louise Sperling |date=2013 |title=The role of evidence in humanitarian assessment: the Seed System Security Assessment and the Emergency Market Mapping and Analysis |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23905769/ |journal=Disasters |volume=37 |issue=Suppl. 1|pages=S83–S104 |doi=10.1111/disa.12014 |pmid=23905769 }}

Moreover, decades of practical experience with seed security interventions have led to the emergence of Ten Guiding Principles for Good Seed Aid.{{Cite book |url=https://vmt2d4.p3cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/MC_ISSD_10PrinciplesGoodSeedAid.pdf |title=Ten Guiding Principles for Good Seed Aid |date=2024 |publisher=SeedSystem}} These principles shape best practices across diverse contexts, providing essential guidance from assessment to implementation and evaluation to ensure interventions are both effective and contextually appropriate.

Ideally, seed aid should be gender-responsive and involve agricultural communities in decision-making. The needs and preferences of individuals, as well as barriers to market access, are carefully analyzed to design appropriate interventions. Farmers should have the freedom to choose between local or modern varieties, including indigenous, intermediate, and commercial crops.

In 2001, farmers worldwide were granted specific rights through a legally binding international text. Article 9 of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) recognizes the following farmers’ rights: the right to the protection of traditional knowledge, the right to fair and equitable benefit-sharing, and the right to participate in decision-making processes. The treaty also acknowledges that farmers' rights to save, use, exchange, and sell farm-saved seeds should not be restricted.

However, farmers' rights do not easily coexist with intellectual property rights (IPRs), as the latter impose limitations on the free use of seeds. IPRs allow innovators to exclude third parties from using a protected variety and/or to derive financial benefits from certain uses of the innovation.{{cite book|author1=Dan Leskien |author2=Michael Flitner |date=1997 |language=english |publisher=IPGRI, coll. Issues in genetic resources, n°6, Rome |title=Intellectual Property Rights and Plant Genetic Resources: options for a sui generis system}} Since 1968, the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV Convention) has enabled breeders to obtain Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBRs) for varieties that meet the criteria of distinctness, uniformity, and stability (DUS).

Intellectual property rights have granted exclusive ownership and control over genetic resources to corporations, universities, and research institutions—often without recognition, compensation, or protection of the contributions of rural communities. This practice, often referred to as biopiracy, has been widely criticized, notably by Indian activist Vandana Shiva.

In 2014, the Nagoya Protocol established an access and benefit-sharing (ABS) framework requiring States to regulate access to genetic resources through legally binding agreements between providers and users. A decade later, the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, and Associated Traditional Knowledge introduced obligations aimed at enhancing transparency, effectiveness, and the quality of the patent system concerning genetic resources and traditional knowledge.

The seed security framework is useful for designing public policies and legislation adapted to agricultural, social and environmental challenges—both in crisis situations and under normal conditions. It supports research that is grounded in farmers' realities and broadens perspectives on national and international seed law.{{Cite book |last=Morgane Leclercq |title=Le droit relatif à la sécurité semencière. Contribution à l'étude de l'internormativité au Sahel |date=2022 |publisher=Université Laval et Université Aix-Marseille |language=french |trans-title=Seed Security Law : A Contribution to the Study of Internormativity within the Sahelian Context |type=thesis}} Additionally, it helps analyze fragmented legal frameworks, improving the clarity and predictability of seed-related regulations.{{Cite book |last=Morgane Leclercq |url=https://www.uga-editions.com/droit-et-systemes-alimentaires-sains-et-durables-1563363.kjsp?RH=1494578964429 |title=Droit et systèmes alimentaires sains et durables |year=2025 |editor-last=Fabien Girard et Élisabeth Lambert |language=french |trans-title=Law and Healthy and Sustainable Food Systems |chapter=L’enjeu d’un cadre juridique cohérent et fondé sur les droits humains pour une sécurité semencière durable |trans-chapter=The Challenge of a Coherent Seed Security Legal Framework Grounded in Human Rights}} A right to seeds has been recognized in Article 19 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP), adopted on October 30, 2018.

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Category:Food security