Program3 Seminar
“Seed saving in contemporary Japan: farmer actions, values, and the consequences for agrobiodiversity”

Date & Hours: Monday, January 28, 2019, 13:30 - 14:30
Venue: Seminar room 1 & 2, RIHN ( →Access)
Organizer: Research Program 3, RIHN
Speaker: Ayako KAWAI (Australian National University)
Abstract:

Diverse crop types and varieties have been developed through millennia of farmers’ seed saving and breeding practices. Crop diversity, including genetic and species diversity, has played a fundamental role in sustainable food systems and peoples’ well-being. Such diversity, though, has decreased since the modernization of agriculture and the concentration of breeding and production of seeds to a small number of global companies. At the same time, seed production and breeding are no longer in the hands of farmers, particularly in developed countries.

This presentation will look at how seed saving and breeding are carried out in Japan outside the corporate sphere; and examines the implications for the conservation of crop diversity. I will compare the characteristics of practices carried out by local, organic, and lifestyle farmers and investigate socio-cultural contexts that shape their values and motivation for saving seeds.

Contact: Program 3 UEDA E-mail
▲PAGE TOP