Indigenous peoples have long been guardians of the world’s crop diversity, preserving seeds and traditions that are vital for food security and culture. From Aymara farmers cultivating ancestral alfalfa in Chile’s Atacama Desert to Dayak communities in Borneo safeguarding ceremonial rice, these stories show how traditional knowledge and local stewardship are shaping global efforts to conserve biodiversity. Working with researchers and genebanks, Indigenous communities are ensuring that their crops, cultures and resilience continue to thrive for future generations.
BIT’s Standy Christianto with Dayak seed samples stored in a freezer at BIT’s genebank in Palangka Raya, before shipping to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Photo: Michael Major/Crop Trust
Safeguarding Indonesian Crop Diversity: A Q&A with Standy Christianto
12 Feb 2025The Borneo Institute Foundation (BIT) was founded in 2007 to support the independence and culture of Indonesia’s Dayak community. Based in Central Kalimantan, a region rich in biodiversity, BIT works with farmers in the Manuhing...
Alta Sierra Alfalfa Gives High Hopes to Farmers in the Atacama Desert and Beyond
27 Nov 2024“Alfalfa is what our livelihoods depend on, what our animals eat. It is important for my family now, and it was for former generations – double the value,” says Mauricio Moyo, a smallholder farmer in the Putre region of Chile’s At...
400-Year-Old Bolivian Newcomer Ships Seeds to Svalbard
21 Oct 2024A 400-year-old university in Bolivia is set to become the latest depositor to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, thanks to support from the Government of Norway, channeled through the Crop Trust.
Founded in 1624, the Universidad...
BOLDly Regenerating Crop Diversity in Nigeria
20 Jun 2023Reducing risks to genebanks in Nigeria and Benin is one of the objectives of the Biodiversity for Opportunities, Livelihoods and Development (BOLD) project.
When the lights went out during the launch ceremony of the BOLD...
The Peruvian delegation from Parque de la Papa desposits seeds in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Photo: Crop Trust
Strengthening the Inclusion of Marginalized Groups in Ex Situ Conservation of Crop Diversity
12 Jun 2023Farmers have selected, exchanged and conserved crop diversity for millennia, and continue to do so, because they know that their food security and livelihoods depend on it. Genebanks play an important supporting role to the...
Farmers from Colpar in central Peru share their preferences for potatoes with researchers from the International Potato Center and Grupo Yanapai. Ultimately, the farmers will decide which potato varieties they plant in their fields so researchers are eager to get them involved early on in the selection process. Photo: Crop Trust/Michael MajorPerfecting the Potato, With Help From Peru’s Farmers
15 Oct 2021This World Food Day, the International Potato Center (CIP) announced a new disease-resistant potato developed with the Crop Trust’s support. Called CIP-Matilde, this special spud was developed in collaboration with farmers and...