Social Sustainability

Seed Diversity

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Definition

Seed diversity is the genetic variation of cultivated plants and their wild relatives: thousands of crop landraces, farmer-selected varieties and wild species carrying traits for drought, heat, pest and disease resistance. It is maintained in situ by farmers' seed systems and ex situ in gene banks — including the Svalbard Global Seed Vault — under the framework of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

References

www.fao.orgBulk import source

Source imported for editorial provenance.

Source organisationSupporting reference

This reference provides supporting context for how “Seed Diversity” is defined and used.

Overview

How it is used

The concept structures the Plant Treaty's multilateral system for access and benefit-sharing, gene bank operations (CGIAR centres, Svalbard), participatory plant breeding and seed sovereignty movements.

Why it matters

Every climate adaptation trait agriculture will ever need already exists somewhere in seed diversity; losing it forecloses options before we know we need them.