Sowing Diversity = Harvesting Security
This programme contributes to the empowerment of smallholder farmers. It aims to develop capacities and supports communities to claim their farmers' rights.
If we fail on seeds, we fail on food. If we fail on the right to food, we fail on the most basic of human rights.
Millions of smallholder farmers in developing countries produce the majority of the world’s food. But they themselves are most at risk of going hungry. We see huge inequalities of power in the way food is produced and distributed, exacerbated by unequal and insecure tenure of land and the growing impact of climate change.
Sowing Diversity = Harvesting Security (SD=HS) is the joint effort of Oxfam Novib and the world’s leading civil society organizations with a firm track record in the field of plant genetic resources to empower smallholder farmers. Our mission is to support indigenous peoples and smallholder farmers – men, women and youth – for them to enjoy their Farmers’ Rights and to have the capacity to access, develop and use plant genetic resources to improve their food and nutrition security under conditions of climate change.
Our mission
Our mission is to support indigenous peoples and smallholder farmers – men, women and youth – for them to enjoy their Farmers’ Rights and to have the capacity to access, develop and use plant genetic resources to improve their food and nutrition security under conditions of climate change.
Our partners
We partner with and invest in alliances with likeminded NGOs, government institutions, academic bodies and national breeding and research institutes. And we bring together expertise in quality seed development, policies and regulation, local seed enterprise development and public-private partnerships. In eight countries
We work together with indigenous peoples, smallholder farmers and civil society organizations in Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Laos, China, Guatemala and Peru. Our work focusses on four goals:
- Farmer’s crop improvement and adaptation
Resilient indigenous and farming communities are better able to access and sustainably use and maintain plant genetic resources for food and nutrition security, climate change adaptation and disaster management. - Farmer Seed Enterprises
Indigenous peoples and smallholder farmers enhance their livelihoods, income and seed security through improved production of and improved market access to high-quality seeds of diverse crops and varieties. - Nutrition and local food plants
Strengthen coping strategies of communities by increasing the intake of nutritious food based on local biodiversity and improved management of local food plants, also known as neglected and underutilised species (NUS) - An enabling policy environment
Policy makers and other stakeholders support an enabling policy and institutional environment for farmers’ seed systems and the implementation of Farmers’ Rights.
For more information about the SD=HS program, please visit our website.
The SD=HS program is grateful for its generous help from SIDA.
