Fomenting the SEPL milpa (three sisters) through in situ landrace maize seed protection

Overview

In Mexico, maize is a staple food crop that dominates all cultivated landscapes. This sacred grain is the axis of the SEPLS pluricultural milpa (meaning three sisters) which can include up to 60 different species in the same plot. Together with maize, bean, chili, and squash constitute the foundation of the milpa.

This project had the following objectives:
1. Protect native maize seeds in peasant hands
2. Re-evaluate and foment a continuous maize seed diversification process
3. Ensure the long-term sustainability of maize seed reproduction
4. Document and spread the knowledge gathered about in situ seed conservation

To achieve these objectives, the following activities were implemented in close collaboration with two locally based organizations:

• Established two communitarian local seed funds (one was not finished due to hurricane Otis, which hit Guerrero in November 2023)
• Organized and carried out three seed exchange fairs
• Organized a series of training workshops about seed conservation, participative seed breeding and organic inputs
• Implemented field work and created a seed conservation manual which was distributed to local people

Key achievements

• 100 kilograms and 20 varieties of maize seeds were conserved for the following production cycle.
• Awareness of challenges (privatization, GMOs, climate change, etc.) and the importance and different local application methods of seed conservation in the community were increased through the seed exchange fairs.
• The links among academia, peasant, and indigenous organizations were reinforced through workshops on seed conservation, participative seed breeding, and organic inputs. It deepened scientific knowledge of the participatory breeding of native maize.
• Traditional knowledge of the seed conservation process was enhanced among the communities through the production and distribution of the seed conservation manual.

Lessons

The project must be well rooted in the community so that it meets the needs of this particular socio-ecological landscape. Conditions are heterogenous when there is vast biocultural diversity. Therefore, goals and methods should be developed and adjusted within the local context.