Women safeguard native seeds in Zambia

In the Luano region of Zambia, 65-year-old Anne Mutale started farming over 30 years ago in a village called Luwingu. Ms. Mutale grows a variety of organic crops such as maize, cowpeas, groundnuts, beans, sweet potatoes and cassava for food and income. “I cultivate these crops because of their nutritional values and ingredients in traditional meals,” she stated, adding that “I have been preserving the local seeds for planting the next season because they are an important part of our community’s health and nutrition.”

Ms Mutale’s seeds are part of a special category of seeds which are fully managed and preserved by women custodians. They hold the potential to knock down invisible barriers and unlock access to greater economic and social freedom for rural women farmers, as they are free to decide how to manage the seeds, without having to ask for permission from male counterparts.

These seeds are passed down from mother to daughter for many generations and provide them with economic agency and the ability to provide their families with a nutrient-rich diet. The passing-down of seeds from mother to daughter serves a practical purpose as well: these are familiar seeds a daughter knows how to grow, cook and store. Through various roles, women custodians ensure that communities and regions are food secure, healthier, more dynamic, and able to contribute to the country's economy.

As a custodian of local seeds, Ms Mutale wants to pass knowledge on how to preserve seeds and food on to young girls in the community: “Young girls need to be taught how to farm, how to prepare the land, what to grow and how to preserve the seeds and food in order to have food security.” Such seed-preservation techniques include drying beans and leaves and using ashes and the smoke from cooking to prevent maize from rotting.

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