In a New Dehli seed fair organised by farmers, Dr Debal Deb is credited to collect with his farmers organisation 920 traditional rice varieties from peasant rice farmers. Dr Deb whom Michel and Jude met in India distributes seeds freely to farmers: As a matter of principle Dr Deb never shares his priceless germ plasm with plant breeders or seed companies. Find out why this folk hero doesn’t. http://seedsavers.net/indian-peasants-seed-gathering/

Fischer crops up in Arctic, carrying seeds of lifeIT was a bone-chilling -15C in the Arctic Circle this week when Boree Creek’s most famous farmer, former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer, stood in the half-light on a frozen mountain and entrusted his farm’s wheat and oats seeds to the future of mankind.

via Theaustralian

Debal Deb we met in India years ago.

Sovereign seeds showcase unique biodiversityAt the seeds festival, varieties conserved through generations are on display Farmers from 17 States have arrived here with 2300 seed varieties they have conserved through generations to put them on display at the National Seeds Festival that opened here on Saturday.

via Thehindu

Our recent article in the Echo

Planting the seeds of wisdomMichel and Jude Fanton are in perpetual motion, a two-person NGO (non-government organisation) on a global odyssey for seed freedom. The couple formed Seedsavers in 1986 after concerns that corporate seed production would lead to the loss of varieties cultivated over centuries for their taste, nutrition and robustness.

via Echo

Some interestting info

Tanzania: ‘large-scale farming turns small farmers into mere labourers’Zitto Kabwe first heard about the G8 initiative to transform the future of farming and food production in his country when he opened a newspaper in 2012. The chairman of the Tanzanian parliament’s public accounts committee says he was critical of the scheme from the start. “Something like this needs to go through parliament.

via Theguardian