From Seed to Table ｜ Why we are working in Vietnam? ｜ Our Vision ｜ Our Mission ｜ Activities ｜
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In the past, farmers saved indigenous seeds that were well adapted to local climatic conditions in order to get enough food and sustain their life. At that time, abundant natural resources were crucial to human survival. Our ancestors cooperated together and developed technologies to continue using indigenous seeds. This experience has been handed down to us so that we now also enjoy a rich and varied diet.
However, with the advent of widespread monoculture over the past 50 years, hybrid seed varieties have become widely accepted. Expansion of large food industries has pushed indigenous seeds to the brink of survival.
We believe that conserving indigenous seeds not only enriches our food and therefore our lives, but also helps protect biodiversity and traditional cultures.
Seed to Table works to conserve this legacy and pass on indigenous varieties, natural resources that nurture crops, and people’s knowledge and culture to future generations.
To accomplish this, it is essential to understand the lives of people who are the keepers of indigenous seeds right now. For instance, do they have sustainable livelihoods, are resources they need guaranteed to them, is there a sufficient cooperation for them to collaborate long-term.
Cooperation among different stakeholders to solve common problems is also needed. People living in the city can support the people who keep and utilize indigenous seeds so that they can continue to promote the quality of food which provides the nutrition they need to stay healthy.
Based on this idea, Seed to Table will identify indigenous varieties and use them while promoting ecologically friendly agriculture and sound natural resource management practices. We also want to create opportunities for city people and those in rural areas to understand and cooperate with each other, and for young and older generations to share traditional culture and knowledge.
Vietnam is agricultural country. The volume of rice and coffee exports are the second highest in the world. Farmers make up 60% of the population, and 70% of the population lives in the countryside. However, farmers cannot get enough cash income from agriculture. Natural resources that support the farmers’ livelihoods, such as water, soil, and forest, are also gradually declining due to development and local seed varieties are being lost to hybrid varieties.
Since the Vietnamese government launched the so-called ‘Doi Moi’ (or ‘renovation’) program of economic reform in 1986, and the beginnings of a market system emerged, the wealth gap between the city and rural area has rapidly widened. Rural youth started going to the city to find work, and many villages have lost the important social structures of mutual cooperation which have always handed down traditional culture or knowledge.
However, some villagers have tried to improve their livelihoods in order to stabilize their economies by protecting the natural resources and traditional culture in their village, and teaching the children. Seed to Table has met those people and started its activities to encourage and support them.
Vietnamese people have cooperated and developed knowledge, technology and management systems to protect indigenous seeds, natural resources and traditional culture, to enhance food and livelihood security, and to live in harmony with each other and with their natural environment.
We are working with many different stakeholders including farmers, local and national government staff, academics, and companies in order to enhance mutual cooperation. This is an essential basis for real solutions to common problems. Our specific activities over the next three years include the following:
The Muong people living in Tan Lac district of Hoa Binh province in the northern mountains of Vietnam have handed down traditional agricultural methods, food and culture for many generations. Local rice and vegetable varieties are also a part of their traditional culture. However, after the introduction and adoption of new high-yield varieties and hybrid seeds, many local varieties, especially rice, have been lost. However, even though the Muong people could get higher yields from these new hybrid varieties, within a short time they also started to face serious problems such as pests and disease, and increased production costs. So the Muong people want to return to their indigenous rice varieties because they can save and share these seeds easily so they do not have to buy seeds every year, and the local varieties were known to be pest-resistant and quite disease tolerant. They also prefer the taste! In this project, we and the Muong people who have experience with rehabilitating local varieties will cooperate and share that knowledge with other Muong communities who hope to use the indigenous varieties.
Rice-duck farming was introduced here by Japanese farmers in the early 1990s and was well-adapted by Vietnamese farmers because it helps farmers reduce the amount of labor needed for weeding, it improves food security and increases cash income. Right now farmers want to sell their agricultural produce to consumers with reduced or no use of pesticides. To introduce farmers’ produce to the marketplace, the development of new value chains is greatly needed. We create opportunities to discuss this issue with various stakeholders such as farmers, consumers, government officials, academics and traders. We also provide technical training to farmers and organize workshops for farmer-to-farmer exchange of experience.
Protecting natural resources and rehabilitating indigenous knowledge are both essential if people in rural areas are to improve food security and sustain their lives. We work with local people, especially young farmers and children, to study the local environment, biodiversity and traditional knowledge in order to discuss and plan for the future.
There are many young farmers who do not have access to secondary school education. Some of these young people are very enthusiastic to learn and have the capacity to become local leaders in the future. It is important to develop local leaders of next generation in terms of improving food security and livelihoods. We discuss these issues with local leaders who identify young farmers with the potential to become leaders, and access the kind of training they need.
How can you help us?
For more details, please ask us by e-mail info@seed-to-table.org
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