Seed Saving - Preserving Local Seeds - The Philippines

Mambucano Cacao, Coffee, and Coconut Organic Producer Association

Page developed by Marie Kessler and Ann Collet, ARI Graduate Outreach Volunteers

submitted July 2024

Collecting and Protecting Local Seeds

Ariel on his farm / Job's Tears grains

Ariel, a farmer in the Philippines, is passionate about collecting and preserving rare, local seeds. Look at the unusual seeds above! They are Job’s Tears, a grain grown in Asia.

“As crop production becomes more advanced the concept of seed saving traditions is diminishing. Farmers become more and more dependent on seed production companies.”

- Ariel

Why does Ariel make the effort to save seeds, when he can just buy seeds?

It is expensive! The seed companies make a lot of money by selling seeds to farmers. Everyone who wants to grow and harvest crops and vegetables needs seeds. So, saving your own seeds can save lots of money. Furthermore, the seed companies cannot control you. To support local seeds and farmers, the local government recognizes Ariel's seed bank project.

Why are local seeds good?

The beneficial quality about local, native seed varieties is that they have more genetic variation and are adapted to the local environment. These plants are more resilient to climate conditions, insects, diseases, and typhoons. They have been used for a thousand years and create an amazing, unique taste with lots of nutrients.

Let's see what kinds of seeds Ariel collects

Ariel collects and grows the seeds of many kind of plants, such as Job’s Tears, Tauri beans, upland rice, wild bitter gourd, wild cucumber, cacao beans, corn, and a local variety of banana (a small type which is more disease resistant).

Let's look at some of the seeds, their plants, and their uses. The diversity of them is beautiful!

Tauri beans can last up to two years and have an excellent taste when cooked! Normally the bean vines require a trellis to support their growth. Instead of building a trellis out of wood or metal, Ariel plants the beans next to shrubs so they can climb them.

Tauri beans / Tauri bean plant with a shrub as a trellis

Black soybeans are another crop grown on Ariel's seed farm. They have high nutritional value and are climate resilient. Ariel grows many different crops next to each other to make the most use of the available space.

Black soybean planted together with asparagus, eggplant, and corn

Corn is a crop which comes in different colors and varieties all around the world. It is not always yellow, as some people may think. Traditional corn, cultivated long ago in the Philippines, can now only be found in a few regions. The red corn variety has adapted well to local conditions, which leads to better resistance and higher yields. Ariel received the seed for this variety during a visit of the indigenous people in southern Negros.

Beautiful red corn, propagated and grown from indigenous seeds

Criollio Cacao produces a white bean that has a high demand on the global market due to the quality of its flavor. It was brought to the Philippines from Mexico some centuries ago. The more common Trinitario variety is purple.

Criollio Cacao with the white bean

And two more interesting crops...

Job’s Tears

“Job’s Tears,” also known as “Adlai” and many other names, is a grain. In its early growth stage, it looks like corn, and later on like rice. There are many families of this type of grain, which are grown by indigenous tribes. Some varieties even have medicinal uses!

The seed of Job's Tears

Job' Tears is not a common food source grain, despite growing naturally in the mountains and along rivers. Its shells were once used for rosary beads. Ariel managed to get these indigenous seeds from his local tribal people.

Job's Tears with hard shells / Job's Tears growing on the farm

Job's Tears come in different varieties from low to medium to high growing plants that can reach two meters! When Ariel went to Zambales to visit other Graduates, he found Job’s Tears had the size of a soybean and a purple color. In Mindanao, there is a local variety of Job's Tears with purple grains. In Negros, where Ariel lives, the color is brown. So there are many different varieties to collect! The rarest is a black grain, used as medicine.

Upland Rice

Growing rice can be difficult when there is little water. However, there is no need for flooded rice paddies for this type of rice. “Upland Rice,” requires just dry soil and a little bit of space.

Upland Rice

When the time comes to harvest, Ariel recommends cutting the plant and leaving the stock in the ground. New tillers can grow from the same stock, which saves time and effort. The local traditional variety of upland rice is a significant part of Ariel's farm. He now has five heirloom varieties, which are plants grown from seeds that have been passed down over generations, without using modern breeding techniques.

New tillers come from cut stalks after harvest / a homemade tool for weeding

One seed can produce 15 to 20 tillers with one stalk holding 250-1000 grains. That is a high yield for very little seed! When Ariel and his family did not have any land, he used to help his neighbors harvest this traditional rice. So, it is possible to increase the use of local seeds and help your community, even when you own no land yourself!

But HOW to save the seeds?

“The best way to preserve seeds is by growing them!”

Ariel's seed garden has a lot of different varieties, so he is able to cultivate crops year-round. His methods for seed saving are simple and effective. He starts by observing nature to identify which plants are good candidates for seed saving. For example, if he notices that a mouse is more attracted to a certain type of plant, this plant could be as tasty for a human!

Once you have identified a plant for seed saving, it is important to know its growing season. Each vegetable and crop has its own growing season, and it can be difficult to grow many different vegetables at the same time because of pollination. Ariel suggests continuously planting seeds, varying the timing of planting, to ensure a steady supply of seeds throughout the year.

Seed sharing in Ariel's community

"Our future is in our seeds!"

Ariel emphasizes the importance of sharing and swapping seeds with others to ensure their continued existence. He is part of a farmer association in the Philippines that focuses on keeping traditional seeds alive by trading them. Even the local government is supporting this association, by recognizing the efforts on seed conservation as part of a legal strategy.

When exchanging rare seeds, it is important that no GMO seeds get mixed into the market. A third-party certification is given to farmer groups which are using local or traditional seeds. The farmers apply for this certificate, which checks if they are following the government's operation manual correctly. This is to make sure that these rare seeds can be traced and protected.

Ariel's loosely organized farmer's group consists of 30-60 members, and they gather in his small house. Working on such an important topic together motivates everyone even more! They grow their seeds and preserve them by growing them again and again! Everyone is as excited as Ariel is about seed saving. His members train others to save their own seeds. As a result, more people are learning seed saving techniques!

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At this stage Job's Tears look more like rice.

Ariel's plans for his community go 100 years into the future and beyond. He will continuously develop his skills and work to save indigenous seeds. Seed saving is an important practice that anyone can do to help preserve the biodiversity of plants. Ariel's methods for seed saving are simple and effective, and anyone can start collecting and saving seeds today. By following his advice and continuously planting, harvesting, and storing seeds, we can ensure the continued existence of these healthy plants for generations to come. So let's grow continuously and enjoy!

"Farming is enjoying life. Seeing plants growing is enjoyable. I will continue to practice traditional ways. Modern farming is failing, especially during climate change, but with indigenous seeds, we can keep growing.”

- Ariel

To learn more about how to build a seed bank and store seeds, click on the link below.

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