Project profile — USC Canada Seeds of Survival 2015-2020

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) increased availability of nutrient-rich food in quantity and quality for 153,601 women, men and youth; (2) sustainable economic growth for rural women, men and youth through creation of 154 women and youth-led sustainable small enterprises; (3) Seeds of Survival practices and policies (such as participatory research to develop new crop seed varieties adapted to different agro-ecological zones and that are more productive and nutritious; community seed banks and agro-ecological production) are scaled up through adoption by 418 farming communities, and 75 government agencies, civil society organizations, and research institutions in six developing countries; and 4) strengthened linkages with relevant government ministries and agencies involved in crop variety registration and official release, seed certification, etc.

Results achieved as of May 2019 include: (1) increasing availability of nutrient-rich food in quantity and quality for 123,628 direct beneficiaries in 432 communities; (2) overall annual household access to adequate food supplies increased by 8.1% on average from the baseline. 20% more households grow fruits and 28% grow more vegetables, and participants are growing 31% more fruit varieties and 42% more vegetable varieties than before the project. These increases have contributed to making nutritionally diverse food supplies available to poor households on a more consistent basis; (3) the project is working with 187 women’s groups to strengthen women’s participation in economic decision-making. Women made up 50% of the leadership positions in the 187 collective enterprises supported in 2017-2018, and are increasingly participating in traditionally male-dominated areas, such as seed production and community seed bank management. More than 4,400 women farmers and 1,600 youth farmers have received support in accessing community land, and over 5,300 women and nearly 2,500 youth received agricultural inputs like seeds, microloans, and production supplies including tools, biofertilizers, herbicides and pest repellents. These results are helping to demonstrate that promoting women and youth’s active participation in agro ecological practices and market-related initiatives contributes to sustainable economic growth for rural women, men and youth; (4) the Seeds of Survival (SoS) project has collaborated with more than 220 organizations, government departments, and research institutes in scaling-up SoS practices; and (5) partners have conducted 26 seed security assessments, supported 64 community seed banks, and more than 5,600 participants have received training in participatory varietal selection and plant breeding, resulting in strengthened smallholder farmer capacity to adapt to identified climate change risks.