Over the next few months, I am embarking on a journey around the Pacific Northwest on my Churchill Fellowship, exploring farmer-led, collaborative and dynamic approaches to seed production. I'll be spending time with seed growers, farmers, plant breeders and other key stake holders involved in food and seed sovereignty, to better understand how these practices can contribute to the creation of a resilient and diverse food system
Participatory plant breeding empowers farmers, breeders and customers to come together to improve crops specifically adapted to local areas, soils and local markets - regaining seed sovereignty. It is a partnership that focuses on resilience and adaptation and allows natural diversity to thrive. I plan to learn these techniques and practices from pioneering growers in the USA and Canada who are experimenting with diverse plant populations, building crop resilience and increasing flavour & nutritional quality of our food.
By implementing these practices and sharing my research with my own farming community and beyond, I hope to reconnect people to a more collaborative way of producing food, cultivate curiosity and inspire.
Follow my adventures here, and via my Instagram.