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Establish Genetic Diversity Conservation Through On-Farm Seed Saving

Modern agriculture relies on few crop varieties, creating vulnerability to diseases and climate change, while traditional varieties contain valuable genetic traits for resilience. The challenge is incentivizing farmers to grow and save diverse traditional varieties. Barriers include lower yields of traditional varieties, lack of markets for diverse crops, and loss of seed-saving knowledge. Without genetic diversity conservation, agriculture becomes increasingly vulnerable to catastrophic losses from diseases or climate events. Successful seed saving programs could preserve thousands of varieties while providing farmers with climate-adapted options, potentially maintaining agricultural genetic diversity for future generations.

Applied Sciences, Sustainable Farming, Regenerative Agriculture