Address
Jones Street, New York, USA
Biodiversity
Community Seed Conservation Initiative
Rebuilding Bangladesh's lost genetic library of traditional rice varieties, one farmer-run community seed bank at a time.
Impact at a Glance
18
Seed Banks
140+
Rice Varieties
900
Farmer Members
5
Years Running
Overview
Decades of green-revolution monoculture pushed Bangladesh's farmers toward a handful of high-yield rice varieties — boosting short-term output but quietly erasing hundreds of traditional varieties bred over generations for flood tolerance, salinity resistance, and specific local soils. This project rebuilds that lost genetic library, one community seed bank at a time.
Our Approach
Eighteen village-level seed banks now operate as farmer-run cooperatives, where members contribute their best traditional seed each harvest in exchange for access to the shared collection. SSEAFA supports each bank with proper storage infrastructure, germination testing protocols, and a shared digital catalog that tracks which varieties perform best under which stress conditions — flood, drought, or salinity — based on real field results reported back by member farmers.
Impact So Far
Several nearly-lost salt-tolerant varieties, cultivated by only a handful of elderly farmers when the program began, are now back in wider circulation after outperforming modern varieties in the increasingly saline soils of the southwest during recent dry seasons.
Outcomes
- 18 farmer-run community seed banks now operating across two divisions
- 140+ traditional rice varieties catalogued and preserved
- 900 farmer members actively contributing and withdrawing seed
- Several near-extinct salt-tolerant varieties returned to active cultivation
Support This Project
Every restored hectare, every trained household, every seed bank in this journal is made possible by people and volunteers who believe in the work.
