Ukraine’s At-Risk Farmers to Get Seed Capital From Crops in US
Wheat seeds can be conserved in genebanks and also in farmers' fields. Photo: Crop Trust/Britta Skagerfalt-
By Stefan Schmitz Executive Director
14 July 2022
Nate Kleinman gathered seeds for Ukrainian crops including winter squash, sunflower, and medicinal herbs, with plans to cultivate them this spring on his New Jersey farm. Then Russia attacked his ancestral homeland.
“I realized that it was going to be particularly important to preserve these seeds, to grow them out as quickly as possible, and get more seed to share that around with Ukrainian refugees,” said Kleinman, who sought out more Ukrainian seed varieties and dispersed them to growers in his US networks. “Ideally to get those seeds back to folks in Ukraine, one of these days.”