From seed shortages to a thriving local seed system

December 14, 2022

Your support helped change the seed system in Cuba.

Sixteen years ago, Cuba’s National Institute for Agricultural Sciences asked SeedChange for help with a thorny issue. 

Ever since the economic crisis of the 1990s forced Cuban farmers to transition to organic farming overnight, farmers had been struggling to grow enough food for Cubans. The missing piece: seeds. 

Thanks to you, we were able to help.

We started our work with Cuban farmers by conducting seed security assessments in various communities, to better understand their seed supply challenges.

A mixed picture emerged. In some regions, farmers could get all the seeds they needed from Cuba’s national seed production system, because the government deemed their area to be ideal for growing those crops on a larger scale. But in regions not prioritized by the national system, farmers were struggling.  

With this knowledge in hand, we started working on local solutions. 

Through our partners, we delivered seed saving training to farmers, organized learning exchanges between seed savers, and supported community seed fairs to help farmers discover new seed varieties. We also supported farmers like María Luisa García Suárez (pictured) to start community seed banks, as a place where neighbors come together to store and share seeds. 

Things improved, but one major barrier remained: farmers couldn’t sell their seeds.  

All around the world, governments use national seed certification systems to ensure that only high quality seeds make it on the market. While important, these systems are rarely designed with small-scale seed producers in mind. 

Cuba’s national certification system was no exception. So even if Cuban farmers could save their seeds, they couldn’t get them certified, so they weren’t allowed to sell them. And without sales, they couldn’t justify the investments needed to grow more seeds. This kept local seed supplies low.

Once more, your solidarity made all the difference. 

Over the years that followed, you allowed us to connect Cuban farmers and officials with counterparts from Costa Rica and Honduras, to look for solutions. Together, they identified a winning policy proposal: local seed certification systems.

Local seed certification systems might not seem that exciting… but to farmers, they are.

By providing farmers with detailed seed production protocols adapted to small farms, and setting up local seed certification committees to assess and certify their seeds, local seed certification opens the door to thriving local seed businesses.

Today, nearly 30 pilot projects for local seed certification are underway in Cuba.

Thanks to you, Cuban farmers can now sell high quality seeds to end local shortages, increase their income, and take better care of their families!  

Common problems, common solutions

Our work in Cuba is now coming to an end, but many farmers around the world still face the same barriers that Cuban farmers were facing. That’s why it’s crucial to keep sharing these innovative solutions with farmers and policy-makers globally. 

By helping us spread these solutions, you’ll help more communities rebuild thriving local seed systems. Thank you!