If seeds are the foundation of agriculture, then seed banks are agriculture’s memory — the repositories where genetic diversity is preserved against loss, disaster, and the relentless pressure of monoculture. But seed banks are not merely refrigerated vaults in government institutions. They are also living networks of farmers, women, adivasi communities, and grassroots organisations who have quietly kept the flame of biodiversity burning through decades of agricultural change.
This week, we explore the world of seed banking — from the global to the local — and, most importantly, how you can participate in or even establish a seed bank in your own community.
What Is a Seed Bank and Why Does It Matter?
A seed bank is a collection of seeds stored under controlled conditions to preserve their viability and genetic integrity over time. The purpose is straightforward but profound: to ensure that no variety goes extinct simply because it is temporarily out of fashion, displaced by a new hybrid, or lost to a localised disaster.
The need for seed banks became urgently apparent during the 20th century as industrial agriculture rapidly replaced diverse traditional farming systems with monocultures. The 1970 Southern Corn Leaf Blight epidemic — which destroyed 15% of the United States corn crop in a single season precisely because most of the crop was genetically identical — dramatised the danger of genetic uniformity. Similar vulnerabilities exist in India’s rice, wheat, and cotton sectors today.
The most famous seed bank in the world — the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway — stores backup copies of seed collections from gene banks worldwide, deep inside a mountain in the Arctic. It currently holds over 1.3 million distinct seed samples and is designed to withstand virtually any conceivable catastrophe. But for Indian farmers, the most relevant seed banks are far closer to home.
India’s National and State-Level Seed Conservation Efforts
National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), headquartered in New Delhi and operating regional stations across the country, is India’s apex institution for plant genetic resource conservation. It holds over 4.5 lakh (450,000) accessions of agricultural and horticultural crops — one of the largest collections in Asia. The NBPGR conducts regular explorations to collect traditional varieties from farmers, tribal communities, and remote agricultural zones before they are lost.
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) maintains crop-specific gene banks through its network of research institutes. The Directorate of Rice Research in Hyderabad, the Central Potato Research Institute in Shimla, and the Indian Institute of Pulse Research in Kanpur each maintain collections relevant to their mandate crops.
At the state level, several governments have launched community seed conservation programmes under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) and the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA). Andhra Pradesh’s Rythu Sadhikara Samstha has established village-level seed banks as part of the state’s ZBNF roll-out. Kerala, Sikkim, and Uttarakhand have active programmes supporting community seed preservation through their organic farming missions.
Community Seed Libraries: Democracy of Seeds
Beyond institutional gene banks, the most dynamic and culturally rich seed conservation happens at the community level — in what are called community seed libraries or beejakosha (seed treasure).
A community seed library functions like a public lending library but for seeds. Farmers deposit seeds from their best plants after harvest. Other community members can borrow seeds for the next season, with an agreement to return double the quantity after harvest — replenishing and expanding the collection. The library provides access to diverse varieties, creates accountability to grow them out, and embeds seed saving as a community practice rather than an individual one.
Deccan Development Society (DDS) in Zaheerabad, Telangana has operated one of India’s most celebrated community seed banks since the late 1980s. Managed almost entirely by Dalit women farmers, the DDS seed bank holds hundreds of varieties of sorghum, millets, and pulses, with each variety accompanied by detailed knowledge of its uses, cultivation, and significance. The women of DDS have become internationally recognised seed sovereignty advocates.
Navdanya, founded by Dr. Vandana Shiva in 1991, has established over 150 community seed banks across 22 Indian states and conserves more than 5,000 varieties of rice, wheat, millet, and other crops. Navdanya’s “living seed bank” model keeps seeds in active cultivation rather than frozen storage, ensuring continued adaptation to changing conditions.
The Irreplaceable Role of Women in Seed Conservation
Across India’s farming communities, women have historically been the primary custodians of seeds. This is not merely a cultural pattern — it reflects a functional division of labour in which women managed the household, kitchen garden, and crop selection while men managed field operations and market interactions.
In adivasi communities across Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and the Northeast, women’s seed knowledge encompasses not only preservation techniques but also the medicinal, nutritional, and ritual properties of each variety. In Koraput, Odisha — one of the world’s recognised centres of rice diversity — tribal women conserve hundreds of local rice varieties, each with a name that encodes information about its growth habit, taste, or use.
Research by institutions including the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) consistently shows that when women control seed systems, dietary diversity in households improves. Women tend to prioritise nutritionally diverse crops and varieties suited to family needs, rather than exclusively high-value market crops.
Government schemes like the Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) have specifically supported women seed conservers in tribal regions, providing training, equipment, and recognition for their role as biodiversity stewards.
How to Start a Local Seed Bank
Starting a community seed bank does not require large infrastructure. It begins with three things: seeds, committed people, and a system.
Step 1 — Begin a personal seed collection: Start by saving seeds from the indigenous varieties you already grow, following the selection and storage methods described last week. Document each variety: name, source, year, growing conditions, and any special characteristics.
Step 2 — Find your community: Connect with other farmers, home gardeners, and food enthusiasts in your area who share an interest in diversity. Reach out through local agricultural universities, KVKs, NGOs, or farmer producer organisations (FPOs).
Step 3 — Establish agreements: Agree on simple, clear protocols: How are seeds borrowed? What is the return ratio? How is seed quality maintained? Who documents the collection? Written agreements, however simple, create accountability.
Step 4 — Find a location: A school, a community centre, a panchayat building, or a willing farmer’s home can house a seed library. The storage space needs only to be cool, dry, and secure.
Step 5 — Document and tag everything: Each seed variety should have a labelled packet with name, variety characteristics, source, date, and any cultivation notes. This documentation is as valuable as the seed itself.
Step 6 — Host a seed exchange event: A seed mela — even an informal one over chai and conversation — generates awareness, collects new varieties, and builds the social bonds that sustain the library over time.
India’s agricultural future depends on the genetic diversity that communities like these protect. Every seed bank, however small, is an act of cultural and ecological resilience.
Next week, we shift from seeds to water — exploring why water conservation is the next great challenge for natural farming, and how healthy soil and smart practices can dramatically reduce a farm’s water footprint.