Conserving indigenous seed varieties and traditional crops to protect agricultural biodiversity, preserve cultural heritage, and build resilient food security for generations to come.
India is one of the world's great centres of agricultural diversity — home to thousands of traditional crop varieties developed and refined over millennia by farmers working in intimate relationship with their local environments. These varieties are not just agricultural assets; they are living cultural heritage, embodying generations of ecological knowledge and adaptation.
Yet this diversity is disappearing at an alarming rate. The spread of commercial hybrid and GM varieties, combined with changing diets and farming practices, has pushed thousands of indigenous crop varieties to the brink of extinction. With each lost variety, we lose irreplaceable genetic resources that could be critical for adapting food systems to climate change.
Bionectus works with farming communities to conserve, grow, share, and celebrate indigenous crop varieties — keeping them alive in the field where they belong, not just in gene banks.
We support community seed banks — locally managed collections of indigenous seed varieties that farmers can borrow, grow, and return. This living conservation model keeps seeds in active cultivation, allowing them to continue adapting to local conditions while remaining accessible to the community.
We also document traditional agricultural knowledge associated with indigenous varieties — their cultivation practices, nutritional properties, cultural significance, and local names — ensuring this knowledge is not lost with the generation that carries it.
Establishing and supporting locally managed seed banks for the conservation and sharing of indigenous crop varieties.
Recording traditional agricultural knowledge, cultivation practices, and cultural significance of heritage varieties.
Supporting farmers to grow and celebrate indigenous varieties, creating markets and community recognition for traditional crops.
Documenting the diversity of indigenous varieties still in cultivation across our region to guide conservation priorities.
Facilitating seed swaps and knowledge exchange between farmers to spread indigenous varieties across the landscape.
Connecting indigenous crop producers with markets and cultural events that celebrate and value traditional varieties.
"A seed is a story — the story of every farmer who grew it before us, every season it survived, every meal it became. When we save seeds, we save that story for the farmers who come after."
— Bionectus Indigenous Crops TeamPrimary Region
Active Objectives
Year Founded
Mission-Driven
Your donation funds community seed banks, knowledge documentation, and farmer support programmes that keep India's agricultural heritage alive and growing.