Role and Benefits of Community Seed Banks
- Large crop diversity saved: They safeguard hundreds of indigenous, climate-resilient varieties—887 crop types across 71 species in some regions .
- Crucial during climate stress: Crops from seed banks outperform commercial hybrids during floods, droughts, and heatwaves .
- Enhances food and nutrition security: Farmers gain access to local, low-input varieties suitable for agro-climatic conditions .
2. Challenges Faced
- Funding & infrastructure gaps: Often volunteer-run with weak storage and technical capacity .
- Policy neglect: Limited official support; farmers lack recognition and incentives .
- Knowledge erosion: Younger farmers prefer high-yield hybrids, risking loss of traditional varieties .
3. Enabling Support & Policy Needs
- Policy and legal recognition: Align with Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers’ Rights Act (2001), safeguard seed exchange, empower custodians .
- Technical and financial aid: Support for storage tech, training, capacity building via NGOs, ICAR, NBPGR .
- Market integration: Value chains, producer organizations (e.g. “Dharti Naturals”), branding of indigenous seeds for premium markets .
- Monitoring systems: National digitization of seed banks and ecological audits to track performance and genetic erosion.
4. Broader Significance
- Climate adaptation: Provides in-situ seed diversity safety-nets for farmers in marginal areas .
- Biodiversity conservation: Supports India’s position as a mega-gene center, guarding against global homogenization .
- Sustainable agriculture: Aligns with ICAR’s NICRA (2011) objectives of resilient agronomy and decentralized seed systems .
5. UPSC Relevance
| GS Paper | Focus Area |
|---|---|
| GS-3 | Climate adaptation, sustainable agriculture, biodiversity |
| GS-2 | Policy frameworks, farmers’ rights, public–private partnerships |
| GS-1/GS-4 | Ecological diversity, ethics in preserving traditional knowledge |
Previous-Year UPSC Question
(Found moderate relevance, but no direct PYQ)
Q. (GS-3, 2019) “In the context of climate resilient agriculture, discuss the role of community-based initiatives in ensuring food and seed security.”
- Answer Scope:
- Explain seed banks and farmer-managed systems
- Discuss their role in resilience and biodiversity conservation
- Outline policy and institutional support needed
