A seed bank stores seeds to preserve genetic diversity; hence it is a type of a gene bank. There are many reasons to store seeds. One is to preserve the genes that plant breeders need to increase yield, disease resistance, drought tolerance, nutritional quality, taste, etc. of crops. They are usually flood, bomb and radiation-proof vaults holding jars of seeds from different plant species. This helps to preserve the seeds, ensuring they can still grow when they are needed later.
Seeds must be dried before storing them to improve their storage life. This is because moisture in the seed may encourage mould, bacteria or other pests and diseases. However, seeds should not be dried too much or too rapidly as they may crack or lose their ability to germinate.
Seed banks have recently been introduced in varied places. Hybrid seeds that are accessible to the farmers to buy are expensive and can only be used for one season and doesn’t turn out an honest crop for the second season. These new initiatives of native seed banks on the contrary can be used for years, also reducing the costs which farmers spend in buying average hybrid crops every year.
Preservation of seed banks is as difficult as farming and they need to be kept in a moist environment and in the correct temperature, The collection of seeds must be checked and duplication of seed needs to be avoided for good crop yields. To keep up the longer use of seeds, typical strategies need to be verified on each form of seed.
Hidden underground in rural Sussex in the UK is the world’s largest collection of seeds from wild plants.
The Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) is home to over 2.3 billion seeds, representing over 39,000 different species of the world’s storable seeds.This is the most diverse wild plant species genetic resource on Earth – a global insurance policy to store and conserve seeds from common, rare or endangered useful plants.
Then there is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. The Seed Vault has the capacity to store 4.5 million seed samples. Each sample contains an average count of 500 seeds, so a maximum of 2.25 billion seeds can be stored in the facility. The collection and storage of seeds will continue for some time.
Closer home, the Anisha Organisation’s seed bank has more than three hundred varieties. These include multiple kinds of millet, rice and lentils and also vegetables like tomatoes, squash and beans. Anisha distributes thousands of seeds to residents within the Martalli region anually. In 2017, Anisha started with the mail orders for the seeds. Seed banks give free seeds to the farmers or in exchange with organic manure. The farmers at the end of harvest give back the seeds to the seed bank to store it. These seed banks all together supply a good resolution in variety.
Through ‘Bija Swaraj’, Dr Vandana Shiva’s Navdanya has created 122 Community Seed Banks in eighteen states of India and Asian nations. By distributing the seeds they supply hope to the farmers during disasters like Orissa Super Cyclone, Tsunami, Floods in Uttarakhand, Phailin in Odisha and Kingdom of Nepal earthquake disaster.
A cluster of farmers (mostly women) are organized to gather, multiply and exchange ancient seeds and endemic data supports them. Navdanya started community seed banks with seed keepers and producers from totally different agro-ecological zones of India. These seed banks are managed by the farming community itself.
Several seed banks are currently running freelance with Navdanya’s support. Navdanya has additionally trained and created awareness among 750,000 farmers regarding seed – food sovereignty and property agriculture over the past twenty years. Navdanya has additionally established a conservation and coaching center at village Ramgarh in Doon in Sikandrabad in U.P. and Balasore in Orissa.
The farmer members collect the seeds in their village. The seed bank supplies the initial seeds by Navdanya, either from the farmers World Health Organization or from an area unit which is already cultivating them in nearby villages. Seeds are also accessible from the prevailing seed banks and farmers of comparable agro-climatic regions.
Farmers World Health Organization have an interest in growing autochthonic varieties and are also given technical power on cultivation of those crops, raising seeds and seed management organically. At the end of the season farmers come with their seed quantity with an extra 25 per cent that they borrowed from the seed bank. These seeds are then given to different farmers within the next season to multiply and additionally to extend the quantity of member farmers. Initially Navdanya helps the community in running the seed bank, however with time the community takes over the management.
