Creole seed researches and their interactions with public policies in the northearn Brazil

Abstract

The Northeastern Brazil – and, particularly, the Semiarid region – constitute a broad mosaic of biological and edaphoclimatic diversity. This diversity is mainly important for agriculture as it can ensure a sustainable production, especially in the Semiarid region, by the use of agroecological practices in family farming based on the management of agroecosystems from the coexistence with the Semiarid region. Families have the tradition of producing, storing, and conserving seed at home. In this scenario, the interactions between science and public seed policies were evaluated as development strategies, supported by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity that was ratified by Brazil. Throughout the process, the farmers’ knowledge was valued and integrated with the scientific knowledge, showing how, from the creole seed, various strategies of use and management of agroecosystems are generated. From the results observed over 10 years of research, the farmers concluded that their creole seed perform better than commercial ones. The spaces for the exchange of seed are strategies that should be recognized by public policies as agrobiodiversity management mechanisms, since they surpass the assistance logic of traditional seed distribution programs.