tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/seed-planting-5549/articlesseed planting – The Conversation2017-06-21T13:17:12Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/795862017-06-21T13:17:12Z2017-06-21T13:17:12ZAfter Svalbard: why safety of world seed vaults is crucial to future food security<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174923/original/file-20170621-30158-ngj1tr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/landbruks-_og_matdepartementet/4186766565/in/album-72157623004641656/">Mari Tefre/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is a fearful irony to recent news of flooding at the <a href="https://www.regjeringen.no/en/topics/food-fisheries-and-agriculture/jordbruk/svalbard-global-seed-vault/id462220/">Svalbard Global Seed Vault</a> in Norway. This was supposed to be humanity’s most impregnable bulwark against famine, but it is now endangered by global warming, one of the very threats that it was supposed to protect us from.</p>
<p>It is estimated that we have to <a href="http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/35571/icode/">increase food production</a> by 70% by 2050, and achieve this despite changing weather patterns and the spread of <a href="http://science.time.com/2013/09/02/a-warmer-world-will-mean-more-pests-and-pathogens-for-crops/">new crop diseases</a> due to global warming. The high-yielding crop varieties which we currently depend on were tailored to produce as much grain as possible under ideal conditions, not for resilience if conditions are less good, such as during flooding or drought.</p>
<p>In nature, species adapt to changing conditions by <a href="http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_26">natural selection</a> acting upon differences between individual organisms. Crop breeders also need variation to work with and this was how the wheat and rice lines of the <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/green-revolution-overview-1434948">Green Revolution</a> (which tripled food production in the developing world) were produced, bringing together disease resistance from some varieties, shorter, stronger stems from others and so on.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174964/original/file-20170621-30205-z5ywwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174964/original/file-20170621-30205-z5ywwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174964/original/file-20170621-30205-z5ywwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174964/original/file-20170621-30205-z5ywwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174964/original/file-20170621-30205-z5ywwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174964/original/file-20170621-30205-z5ywwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174964/original/file-20170621-30205-z5ywwi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">India has not experienced famine since it adopted the agricultural practices of the Green Revolution.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/237229180?size=huge_jpg">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Feeding the world</h2>
<p>We now need to produce a <a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/green-revolution/">new generation of crops</a> suited to a changing world. Seed banks and other stores of plant diversity are crucial for preserving the range of characteristics that we will need for this challenge.</p>
<p>This contribution of diversity to food security is illustrated by farmers in China, who have often grown traditional types of rice and maize alongside modern high-yield crops as insurance against poor growing conditions. In some years, the traditional varieties have survived droughts that wiped out the modern plants. These farmers’ seeds have now been used in a cross-breeding programme that has produced <a href="http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/G03338.pdf">six new maize lines</a> combining the best properties from more than 200 traditional and newer varieties.</p>
<p>In other cases, a traditional type of rice from Orissa in India was <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12284-010-9048-5">crossed</a> with modern high-yield rice varieties enabling them to survive flooding that would previously have destroyed the crop. A gene for resistance to late <a href="https://potatoes.ahdb.org.uk/sites/default/files/publication_upload/What%20is%20Potato%20Blight%20V5.pdf">blight</a>, the fungal infection responsible for the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/famine_01.shtml">Great Famine</a> in Ireland, has been <a href="http://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/MPMI-22-5-0589">found in a wild potato</a> from the grasslands of Argentina and used to make commercial <a href="http://www.gardenfocused.co.uk/vegetable/potatoes/variety-desiree.php">Desiree potatoes</a> resistant to infection.</p>
<p>Wild and traditional crop varieties can even guide the most cutting-edge techniques for crop improvement. The gene editing tool <a href="http://www.yourgenome.org/facts/what-is-crispr-cas9">CRISPR-Cas9</a> is being used to make tomatoes with branching patterns that produce more fruit by taking advantage of <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/fixing-the-tomato-crispr-edits-correct-plant-breeding-snafu-1.22018">a gene</a> from one of its wild relations.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174967/original/file-20170621-27026-7oi5nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174967/original/file-20170621-27026-7oi5nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174967/original/file-20170621-27026-7oi5nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174967/original/file-20170621-27026-7oi5nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174967/original/file-20170621-27026-7oi5nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174967/original/file-20170621-27026-7oi5nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174967/original/file-20170621-27026-7oi5nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174967/original/file-20170621-27026-7oi5nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cross-breeding programmes in crops like rice and maize have produced stronger and more resilient strains that can withstand climate change problems such as flooding and drought.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/590773904?size=huge_jpg&src=lb-59856941&sort=newestFirst&offset=4">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are about 1,700 seed banks worldwide collecting and protecting this diversity, ranging from <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/3/4/636">small repositories</a> of seeds run by local communities to larger facilities such as the network of stations run by the Russian <a href="http://www.vir.nw.ru/">Vavilov Institute</a>, and <a href="http://www.kew.org/science/who-we-are-and-what-we-do">Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank</a> in Sussex, which currently contains ten times more samples than the Svalbard vault.</p>
<h2>Under threat</h2>
<p>However, two seed banks in Afghanistan were looted for the plastic containers in which the seeds were kept, one of the Vavilov Institute facilities has suffered flooding, and another bank in the Philippines was destroyed by <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2006/h2006_xangsane.html">typhoon Xangsane</a>.</p>
<p>Because seed banks are being lost to these types of threat – not to mention more mundane reasons such as loss of funding – the Svalbard Seed Vault was established as a global repository and international resource for crop breeders. It has already proved useful. The original International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (<a href="http://www.icarda.org/mission-and-vision">ICARDA</a>) seed bank in Syria has been cut off by conflict since 2012.</p>
<p>It contained many crop varieties bred for arid areas and their wild relatives from the areas where agriculture began in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Fortunately, these stocks were “backed up” at Svalbard and ICARDA was able to withdraw seed to establish a <a href="http://www.icarda.org/blog/%5Bnode%3ABlog%20type%5Dlebanon-and-icarda-today">replacement seed bank in Lebanon</a>, the first such withdrawal.</p>
<p>Seeds are a good way to store plant collections because under the right conditions they can remain in “suspended animation” for very long periods. The <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/109/10/4008.full.pdf?sid=4fd10ab3-a931-4679-bf92-a7038db8c1f8">oldest germinated seed</a>, from a campion flower, was buried in the Siberian tundra more than 30,000 years ago. The previous record holder was a <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/06/080612-oldest-tree.html">2,000-year-old date palm seed</a> found at the ancient Jewish fortress of Masada.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174970/original/file-20170621-12030-1bwhi5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174970/original/file-20170621-12030-1bwhi5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174970/original/file-20170621-12030-1bwhi5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174970/original/file-20170621-12030-1bwhi5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174970/original/file-20170621-12030-1bwhi5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174970/original/file-20170621-12030-1bwhi5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/174970/original/file-20170621-12030-1bwhi5u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Seed packages held deep inside the vault in Svalbard.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/landbruks-_og_matdepartementet/21711571121/in/album-72157623004641656/">Landbruks - og matdepartementet/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These illustrate how cold and dryness help preserve seeds. Larger seed banks follow UN Food and Agriculture Organisation guidelines specifying low temperatures and humidities for seed storage. The Global Seed Vault was located at Svalbard because natural conditions there are cold and dry. The Svalbard vault does use refrigeration to maintain a temperature of -18°C but it was thought that deep within the mountains of Spitzbergen and surrounded by permafrost, seeds stored there would remain frozen even without power. Even if civilisation collapsed. </p>
<p>Thankfully, no seeds were lost because of the flooding at the Svalbard vault and there are other well protected stores – Kew’s Millennium Bank is located inside a nuclear bunker. The Svalbard entrance that was flooded will now be waterproofed, but any water would have had to flow uphill to reach the storage areas, which were in any case well below 0°C which means the water would have frozen first.</p>
<p>Even then, the seeds are protected by foil packages to maintain low humidity, but this is still concerning. Global warming is <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/warmingpoles.html">affecting the poles more</a> than the rest of the world. The temperature ten metres below ground at Svalbard has <a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/mountain-permafrost-1/assessment-1">increased</a> by more than 2°C since 1998 and continues to rise.</p>
<p>It had not been thought that the flooded section needed to be waterproof. Despite global warming, Svalbard will still be a good place to store seed and one of the best places for it to survive a Doomsday scenario in which power for refrigeration is lost. However, in the face of climate change, it may not be as secure as we had hoped.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79586/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stuart Thompson has received funding from MAFF and the Nuffield Foundation.</span></em></p>Diversity, resilience, resistance to disease: seeds must be preserved to ensure we can feed our world in the future.Stuart Thompson, Senior Lecturer in Plant Biochemistry, University of WestminsterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/666922016-10-17T04:10:38Z2016-10-17T04:10:38ZHow dung beetles are duped into rolling and burying seeds<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141771/original/image-20161014-30269-12qsfnj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jeremy Midgley</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Dung beetles find their food - which is dung - by its pungent smell. Once found, dung beetles then roll and bury dung balls or dung pellets to later eat or to lay eggs in. But in the De Hoop Nature Reserve of the southern Cape plants called <em>Ceratocaryum argenteum</em> have managed to dupe dung beetles into rolling and burying their seeds. These seeds look and smell like dung pellets, so this is a classic case of plants deceiving animals.</p>
<p><em>Ceratocaryum argenteum</em> is a tall grass-like plant in the <a href="http://redlist.sanbi.org/species.php?species=2555-1">Restionaceae family</a> and is a part of sand plain fynbos. Fynbos is the local name for Cape shrublands, a biome that regularly experiences natural fires. These seeds are the same rounded shape and brown colour as a dung pellet from local antelope like bontebok and eland. Fresh seeds are really stinky and the scent profile of the dung of these herbivores and that of the seeds is remarkably complex, yet similar. </p>
<p>Given the right weather conditions, such as after rain, within minutes of putting seeds out, dung beetles arrive and rapidly roll and bury the seeds. Dung beetles typically eat soft dung, mostly as developing larvae inside a dung ball but also, to a lesser degree, as adults. The hard seeds of <em>Ceratocaryum argenteum</em> are therefore inedible to dung beetles and thus there is no reward for the dung beetles that disperse these seeds.</p>
<p>Our <a href="http://sajs.co.za/two-dung-beetle-species-disperse-mimetic-seeds-both-feed-eland-dung/jeremy-j-midgley-joseph-d-m-white">research</a> shows the deception is not that costly to the beetles as they do not lay eggs on the seeds. When they try to lay eggs in the hard seeds, they realise something is wrong and they leave.</p>
<h2>Small mammals shy away</h2>
<p>Originally, we thought that these large seeds would be dispersed and buried by small mammals in a process known as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2830248/">scatter-hoarding</a>. Scatter-hoarders bury seeds and then later return to find their stash when they are <a href="https://emammal.wordpress.com/2013/09/24/gray-squirrels-and-scatter-hoarding/">hungry</a>. Their memory is less than perfect and some buried seeds eventually escape seed predation, germinate and establish. </p>
<p>Two species of Cape small mammals are scatter-hoarders; the <a href="http://www.proteaatlas.org.za/p54spiny.htm">spiny mouse and the hairy footed-gerbil</a>. But neither of these two species occurs in southern Cape sandy fynbos where <em>Ceratocaryum argenteum</em> grows. </p>
<p>Here the most common small mammal, the four-striped mouse, seems to be repelled by the seed coat. Interestingly, if the hard seed coats are cracked open, this rodent avidly consumes the inner nutritious part <a href="http://www.nature.com/article-assets/npg/nplants/2015/nplants2015141/extref/nplants2015141-s2.mp4">of the seed</a>.</p>
<p>The benefit to the plant of being buried by dung beetles is very significant because large seeds do not easily get buried passively. Large seeds left on the soil surface would then be prone to incineration. This is through natural, mainly <a href="http://workingonfire.org/fire-in-the-south-african-landscape/">lightning-caused fires</a>, that typically burn through fynbos about every 10 to 20 years. The seeds would also be prone to desiccation as they wait for post-fire conditions in which to germinate and establish. So burial is crucial.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ugxRx7alXb4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Dung beetles rolling and burying seeds.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Implications</h2>
<p>This discovery has several implications. This is probably the best example globally of deception in plant seed dispersal. The only realistic previous example of deception of animal dispersers by plants, concerned red and black hard seeds, the so-called “lucky-beans”. The idea was that these mimic red fleshy fruits and deceive birds into eating and <a href="http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantefg/erythrinlysist.htm">dispersing them</a>. </p>
<p>But often these seeds are poisonous and birds hardly ever take them. So, this is not deception but <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aposematism">aposematism</a> or warning colouration. Many animals use red and black colouration to warn predators that they are harmful. </p>
<p>The evolution of dung beetle deception in a fynbos plant implies the long term presence of dung and thus the presence of large herbivores. Fynbos is generally considered to be unpalatable and therefore that large herbivores <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=JgcIBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT1&dq=fynbos+ecology+evolution+and+conservation&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiE5rzOiNrPAhVEDcAKHQRbBZUQ6AEIJTAA#v=onepage&q=most%20authors%20suggest%20these%20megaherbivores&f=false">would be absent</a>. </p>
<p>In contrast, our results suggest the sustained presence of dung. It also raises the question of why dung beetle deception has not evolved in the herbivore rich savannas of Africa. I guess that this system works best in ecosystems where dung is in limited supply because the plant is so dependent on burial. </p>
<p>The final point regarding the significance of this work is that many novel natural history observations can still be made in the Western Cape and elsewhere. Although this is hardly big science emerging from big labs or big computers, I have been amazed at the enormous public and scientific <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/10/plant-seeds-look-smell-poop-fooling-dung-beetles-planting-them,">interest</a> this paper has <a href="https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2015/10/07/a-new-and-bizarre-form-of-mimicry-plant-seeds-mimic-shape-and-smell-of-animal-feces-to-facilitate-dispersal-by-dung-beetles/">had</a>. </p>
<p>There certainly is large public interest in natural history and since the public often funds science, its great to have had public impact. I suspect that much of the public interest is because deception is the “dark” side of evolution, it is unexpected that plants can deceive animals. Also dung beetles are such interesting, hardworking and charismatic beasts; they attract public attention.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66692/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeremy Midgley receives funding from UCT and NRF. </span></em></p>A tall grass-like plant in the Western Cape has managed to dupe dung beetles into rolling and spreading its seeds.Jeremy Midgley, Professor at Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/463112016-03-29T09:26:58Z2016-03-29T09:26:58ZNo garden? Five creative ways city dwellers can still grow their own<p>With more people than ever living in cities, how do we reconcile our need for fresh fruit and vegetables with the challenges of life in an urban environment where the time and space for gardening are limited?</p>
<p>Thankfully, there are many ways to grow your own fresh produce in the city, which go beyond the traditional solution of the allotment. Here are just five:</p>
<h2>1. Create your own window farm</h2>
<p>Here’s proof that you can grow food in the smallest and most urban of settings. Window farming allows you to grow plants vertically inside your house or flat with the roots resting in water with added nutrients, a system called hydroponics. There’s no need for outdoor space or even any soil. </p>
<p>These “farms” can be as complex or simple as you like and there are now more than 45,000 window farmers around the world <a href="http://our.windowfarms.org/">collaborating</a> to find new ways of growing food. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111522/original/image-20160215-8211-1fk6zh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111522/original/image-20160215-8211-1fk6zh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111522/original/image-20160215-8211-1fk6zh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111522/original/image-20160215-8211-1fk6zh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111522/original/image-20160215-8211-1fk6zh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111522/original/image-20160215-8211-1fk6zh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111522/original/image-20160215-8211-1fk6zh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/111522/original/image-20160215-8211-1fk6zh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Save space by going soil-free.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25031050@N06/4575272044/">Jon Kalish</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Guerrilla gardening</h2>
<p>At its most basic, <a href="http://www.guerrillagardening.org/">guerrilla gardening</a> involves the cultivation of land that you have no legal right to use. As such, it’s about much more than growing fruit and veg, since projects tend to have broader aims to do with reclaiming public space and transforming derelict or neglected parts of the urban landscape. </p>
<p>At its best, it is a creative and inspiring example of <a href="https://theconversation.com/look-out-behind-the-bus-stop-here-come-guerrilla-gardeners-digging-up-an-urban-revolution-29225">direct action</a>. Think of “seed bombs” used to transform a demolition site into a haven for pollinating insects, or lavender and sunflowers being added to a traffic island under cover of night.</p>
<h2>3. Join a community garden</h2>
<p>Unlike allotments, community gardens are focused on doing things together with others. They’re perfect for people who don’t have the time or skills required to work an allotment on their own, and the the camaraderie of working together and learning from more experienced gardeners provides huge social benefits beyond the food they produce. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93163/original/image-20150827-381-1hrxva2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93163/original/image-20150827-381-1hrxva2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93163/original/image-20150827-381-1hrxva2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93163/original/image-20150827-381-1hrxva2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93163/original/image-20150827-381-1hrxva2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93163/original/image-20150827-381-1hrxva2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93163/original/image-20150827-381-1hrxva2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Gardens Community Garden in Haringey.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/communitiesuk/4839980259">DCLG</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. Community-supported agriculture</h2>
<p>So-called “CSA” projects are still relatively new in the UK but the idea behind them is simple: to create a direct connection between farmers and consumers and take back control of the food system from supermarkets and large corporations. Some schemes are similar to existing veg box delivery services where you simply pay to sign up and receive regular vegetable deliveries in return. </p>
<p>However, others allow you to be much more than just a “consumer” as you spend time working on the farm in exchange for produce. In this way, you can get some fresh air and exercise while learning new skills and meeting like-minded people. From the farmer’s perspective this also means a guaranteed market and extra help on the farm. Interested? You can find your local scheme <a href="http://www.communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk/">here</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93166/original/image-20150827-372-1y0rdwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93166/original/image-20150827-372-1y0rdwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93166/original/image-20150827-372-1y0rdwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93166/original/image-20150827-372-1y0rdwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93166/original/image-20150827-372-1y0rdwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93166/original/image-20150827-372-1y0rdwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93166/original/image-20150827-372-1y0rdwk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">You can be a ‘producer’ as well as a consumer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=&search_tracking_id=B8sOyxD8YeiTRO9Ze0ynZA&searchterm=community%20garden&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=138371300">www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>5. Urban foraging</h2>
<p>Do you like the idea of finding your own food but you’re not keen on gardening? No problem. If you know where to look, urban areas also offer plenty of opportunities to find good food for free. </p>
<p>Parks, cemeteries and neglected canal towpaths often offer lots of edible species, from the relatively common blackberry and elderberry to more unusual tasty treats that you can use to spice up your meals. For example, hedge garlic – or <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/fi-bird/jack-by-the-hedge-a-readi_b_7048814.html">Jack by the hedge</a> – can be a fantastic addition to salads, while hawthorn berries and crab apples can make a fabulous jam.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116038/original/image-20160322-32312-1a48hif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116038/original/image-20160322-32312-1a48hif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116038/original/image-20160322-32312-1a48hif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116038/original/image-20160322-32312-1a48hif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116038/original/image-20160322-32312-1a48hif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116038/original/image-20160322-32312-1a48hif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116038/original/image-20160322-32312-1a48hif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Found in shady urban wastelands, ‘Jack by the hedge’ is delicious in salads.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nick Saltmarsh</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Of course, you need to be careful about <a href="https://theconversation.com/meet-five-of-the-uks-most-poisonous-plants-33970">possible contamination or misidentification</a> but, if you’re unsure, why not see if your city has a forage walk that you can join? That way, you can learn first-hand about what’s safe to eat. </p>
<p>Shops, supermarkets and restaurants also throw out lots of perfectly edible food every day. An increasing number of people are foraging in bins for bread, tinned beans or even beer. This hunt for ready-made food is known as “skipping” or “dumpster diving”. Like many of the other methods described here, it’s not just a means of feeding yourself but a political act that highlights the wastefulness of the global food system.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46311/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Whittle is a member of The Green Party. This article does not reflect the views of the research councils or other public funders.</span></em></p>Essential reading for green-fingered urbanites and guerrilla gardeners.Rebecca Whittle, Lecturer, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/546092016-02-22T04:27:14Z2016-02-22T04:27:14ZAfrica’s informal seed system needs to be brought in from the cold<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111221/original/image-20160211-29180-7694db.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The informal seed sector in Africa is massive – 90% of farmers get their seeds from there.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shawn McGuire</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>African governments and donors have spent huge sums of money on seed systems. Simply put, seed systems are networks of organisations, individuals, and rules that produce and distribute seed. African governments, as well as donors, have invested in seed systems for <a href="http://eba.worldbank.org/%7E/media/GIAWB/AgriBusiness/Documents/Report/EBA2015-Strengthening-seed-system.pdf">decades</a>, on the basis that these systems supply farmers with new crops varieties developed through research.</p>
<p>Up to now nearly all of this investment has supported the formal seed system which includes the state and private-sector organisations that operate under official regulations. Generally, such seed is officially certified to meet defined quality standards such as germination rates and purity. It is packaged and sold in commercial outlets like agro-dealers. Sometimes seed from this system is given away by aid programs.</p>
<p>Our <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12571-015-0528-8">paper</a> shows that small-scale farmers get more than 90% of their seed from informal systems. This is seed saved after harvests, obtained from other farmers, or bought in local – often open – markets.</p>
<p>For delivering new crop varieties, the most common approach to informal seed systems has been benign neglect. There has been an assumption that once formal seed systems are established, farmers would increasingly seek their seeds from formal channels.</p>
<p>The problem is that they don’t.</p>
<h2>Why the system doesn’t work for many farmers</h2>
<p>In what may be the largest ever study of seed transactions, we looked at almost 10,000 cases across Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and Haiti. We found that small farmers obtained only 2% of their seed from agro-dealer shops. Another 7% got theirs from government, the UN or NGO aid.</p>
<p>Farmers got the other 90% from informal systems. There were many in the field who knew this anecdotally. But the size and scope – more than 40 crops – of our study makes the significance of the informal system hard to ignore.</p>
<p>This does not mean that the formal agro-dealer shops are failures. It is simply that they have a niche focus. Their limitations include the fact that they:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>supply only a few crops like maize and vegetable packets;</p></li>
<li><p>are located in towns; and</p></li>
<li><p>tend to be patronised by farmers with enough cash to buy seed packets larger than 5kg.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Farmers who live far from towns, who want a crop other than maize, or who don’t want – or can’t afford – large packs of certified seed are currently less well-served.</p>
<p>This is a tragedy, as these farmers could benefit from have more choice and access to many innovations. For example, legumes like beans or cowpeas can improve nutrition and enrich soils. Stress-tolerant <a href="http://web.unep.org/ourplanet/may-2015/innovation/extreme-beans">crops</a> can help cope with difficult climates. New varieties exist that could help, but they need to reach small farmers quickly and effectively.</p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>Thankfully, another key finding suggests a way forward.</p>
<p>Small farmers are buying more than half of their seed in the informal system, mainly from local markets and independent traders. For some crops, like grain legumes, two-thirds of seed is bought in local markets every year. This means that farmers can be an important customer group if the market actively serves them.</p>
<p>Seed sold in informal markets is rarely certified, except for vegetable packets. But farmers know and trust the vendors and often can get seed that meets their quality needs. These sources are preferred by many, particularly women, because they are accessible, reach remote areas, and offer a wider crop choice.</p>
<p>Farmers are interested in trying new crops and varieties, especially for grain legumes with traits that are useful. These include high protein, market value, or stress tolerance.</p>
<p>The fact that most farmers already buy seed points to opportunities to link them more effectively. The formal seed system could therefore do more to work with smallholder farmers as clients. Some initiatives that would make a difference include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>licensing outlets in more remote rural areas, like small retailers, which already sell to farmers;</p></li>
<li><p>introducing smaller packet sizes. These would be more affordable and could encourage farmers to try out new varieties;</p></li>
<li><p>improve two-way communication with small farmers to provide them information;</p></li>
<li><p>seek real feedback on how new varieties performed for them;</p></li>
<li><p>make the informal sector, especially local markets, partners in research. Selected merchants could become channels for distributing new varieties, and get information such as where to get new varieties; and</p></li>
<li><p>seed laws should be broadened to recognise a wider range of seed vendors and quality standards. This could increase the diversity of seed producers and of crops targeted to small farmers. It is already happening in some countries, as with <a href="http://africa-rising.net/2016/01/11/quality-cowpea-seeds/">Quality Declared Seed</a> in Zambia and Tanzania.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>If the ultimate goal is giving farmers better access to try out new crop varieties, we need to move thinking and practice beyond formal and informal seed systems. Small farmers in remote areas may be best served by intermediate approaches that link seed systems – and link farmers to innovation – in new ways.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Louise Sperling, a senior technical advisor for Catholic Relief Services, featured as a co-author on the article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54609/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shawn McGuire receives funding from USAID/OFDA, BBSRC, and DFID for research. Opinions are his own. </span></em></p>More than 90% of Africa’ small-scale famers get their seeds from informal systems. Governments and donors should shift their attention from the formal and invest more in the informal sector.Shawn McGuire, Senior Lecturer in Natural Resources and Development, University of East AngliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.