Commercial seeds conservation. An impediment or a suitable strategy to improve agroecosystems resilience?

Abstract

Numerous studies have highlighted the role family farmers’ play in maintaining seed conservation.
There are many reports on the permanence of this practice in communities of peasants
with a long permanence in the area. However, there is little information regarding the dynamics
of this practice in rural-urban fringe areas, where the Green Revolution agricultural model is
part of the local productive rationality. The situation of conserved seeds, emphasizing commercial
ones, was investigated in the rural-urban fringe area of La Plata region, Argentina. Data
was collected based on semi-structured interviews. Conserved seeds and conservation criteria
are recorded. Of 479 cultivated plants 53.9% were conserved. Among the total of conserved
seeds, there are both traditional varieties as well as commercial varieties. At the present
context, commercial seed`s conservation allows the maintenance of biocultural diversity, as
well as comply with market demands.