One hundred years ago, not a single seed was owned, by anyone. Today, seeds are one of the most controlled commodities in the world.

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Seeds are kernels of life. They support our entire food system: providing sustenance and nutrition for all those we share the living world with. For millennia, small-scale farmers have freely cultivated, saved, and shared a vast diversity of seed, the source of the majority of food on our plates, and those of our ancestors.

The drive towards intensive food production has threatened this practice, which we all rely on. Genetic modification (GMO), an imposed preference for uniform, high-yielding, and easily marketable varieties, and monopolisation by giant agribusiness corporations have led to seeds being prized from the doting hands of farmers.

75% of the world’s food now comes from just 12 plant species – geared toward large-scale monoculture and reliant on chemicals – down from the thousands we once relied on.

New laws, inhibiting what farmers can do with their seeds, have led to just four petrochemical companies controlling 60% of all seed. Small-scale growers are increasingly forced to replace their ancestral, regionally adapted, freely gathered seeds with patented varieties that need to be bought each year, along with the soil-stripping chemicals they require to grow.

Yet, locally adapted, open-pollinated seeds, which have been stewarded over time to thrive in specific places, are vital for climate resilience. Diversity boosts resilience in any system because it mitigates risk, providing a variety of solutions for any given challenge. Genetically diverse seeds, grown in a biodiverse environment by a diversity of people, make our food system more adaptable to unexpected, extreme stress; whether droughts, floods, or the collapse of global supply chains.

“Seed Sovereignty reclaims seeds and Biodiversity as commons and public goods. Farmers have the rights to breed and exchange diverse Open Source Seeds which can be saved and which are not patented, genetically modified, owned or controlled by emerging seed giants.”

Lexicon of Food

Seeds hold the key to food system change. By empowering communities to maintain control over their seeds and adapt them to local environmental conditions, we are ensuring that food systems remain diverse and sustainable even in the face of climate breakdown.

By promoting seed sovereignty, we not only promote sustainable, resilient food systems but also preserve traditional knowledge and cultural practices. It’s a movement for food justice, empowering communities to have agency over their food sources and culinary culture and ensuring that future generations can grow culturally appropriate foods without external control.

The Seed Sovereignty Programme is nourishing a biodiverse and resilient seed system in the UK and Ireland by training, supporting, and empowering farmers to save and exchange regionally adapted seeds, building a movement to reclaim this vital agricultural practice.