RAINS Seed Fair: Strengthening Farmers Rights to Seed Diversity through Community Seed Fairs

The Regional Advisory Information and Network Systems (RAINS) in partnership with the African Biodiversity Network, and with funding from Brot für die welt, is implementing a project to address the contemporary challenges brought about by the breakdown of traditional practices and cultural norms of sharing and exchanging seeds as well as the breakdown of seed networks. The aim is to revive and sustain traditional seed varieties. RAINS has been mobilizing communities and facilitating participatory processes for the strengthening of community seed systems and management the northern region of Ghana. In line with this commitment, RAINS organized a community seed fair in early December 2019 in the Tindang community. The event provided a platform for farmers and community people to showcase revived indigenous seeds, meet and discuss traditional practices connected to indigenous seeds. Several varieties of local seeds were on display, including millet, sorghum, Bambara beans, guinea corn, groundnuts, yam, sanzi, local cowpea, maize.