AFSA Case Studies of Seed Sovereignty

Seed is life. African farmers have been planting, saving and exchanging seeds for countless generations. Millions rely on them for their farming livelihoods, providing incomes and healthy food to feed their families and communities.

But farmers are being pushed to abandon their seed systems and bullied into buying hybrid seeds every year from the seed companies. Diversity is being replaced by uniformity, as commodity mono-crops push out indigenous varieties, and farmers’ resilience to climate change is undermined.

These case studies show how African farmers are taking back control of their seeds, reintroducing high performing and resilient indigenous varieties, and coming together to save, share, exchange and sell their own diverse and nutritious seeds.