Seeds are a strategic starting point for any agricultural development programs and projects, and good seeds are undoubtedly one of the most important material inputs for farmers, both men and women. In some farming communities and families, seeds are the most significant predictor of productivity. For subsistence and small-scale farmers, whose resources are limited and risk taking capacity is low, what matter most are seeds that are yield-dependable, climate-smart and sustainable. Seed security – access to enough quality seed in time of planting – is paramount.
ECHO Asia has been operating a Seed Bank in Thailand since 2009, the first Seed Bank outside of ECHO Inc. Florida Headquarters. The goal of the ECHO Asia Seed Bank is to serve as a resource facility for development workers within the region who wish to experiment with and/or promote underutilized crops as they find ways to improve the lives of the poor. The seed bank maintains a collection of hard-to-find seeds that thrive under difficult growing conditions in the tropics and sub-tropics, apart from select species akin to sustainable agriculture practices.
Through the ECHO Asia Seed Bank, members of the ECHO community network can either acquire free small sample packets, or purchase bulk orders of selected seeds. This transaction is aided by this catalog, the “ECHO Asia Seed Catalog.”
ECHO Asia endeavors to keep the Seed Bank Catalog up to date considering that we discover, collect and acquire seeds as we move and travel around Asia in the course of conducting training and networking activities and events with partners.
This version of Seed Bank Catalog 2019-20 is predecessor of Seed Catalog 2017-2018. It provides the latest collection of seeds categorized into fruits, grains, herbs and botanical pesticides, legumes, oil seeds, pulses and cover crops/green manure. I hope that this catalog will greatly facilitate the choice that any interested individual takes.