Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:This grant revolved around planning and implementing the 2021 Northeast Organic Seed Growers Conference (NOSGC). The 2021 conference was the third iteration of the NOSGC and this grant sought to address priorities of previous participants, namely to diversify participation among those who had historically not been sufficiently represented at the conference. The target audience were those were primarily seed growers, both commercial and non-commercial, though other stakeholders with interest in seed production, including researchers, plant breeders, seed comanies, community-based organizations, and non-profits, were also part of the targeted audience. In particular, the project's efforts placed emphasis on underrepresented populations (BIPOC, LGBTQ+, lower socioeconomic status, students etc.) to diversify participation and representation at the NOSGC. To do so, applications from individuals from underrepresented populations were reviewed and those who met the criteria were provided with free conference registrations supported by this project. Changes/Problems:The Covid-19 pandemic prompted the major change for this project. Originally intended as an in-person conference, the NOGSC was shifted to a virtual format. This shift had several implications. First, it required buy-in from the volunteers who were helping to organize and implement the conference and required additional preparation among presenters through practice sessions, as well as enhanced technical support during the conference. Given these changes, a poster session was ultimately excluded from the conference agenda. In terms of the free registrations that this project supported, the initial proposal was to offer 35 scholarships that would support conference registration and travel. Given that travel was no longer required, and registration was lower than in previous years given the online format, we were able to increase the number of free registrations provided up to 91, which further diversified participation at the conference. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Professional development lay at the basis of the conference sessions. Among the sessions offered included: seed saving 101, plant pathology of common Northeast seed crops, sourcing germplasm, and dissemination of new varieties. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Data are currently being processed and analyzed and the results will be disseminated back to conference participants and other important seed system stakeholders in early 2022. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Seeds are vital to food production, food security, climate adaptation, and the cultural acceptability of food. Given their importance, strengthening local and regional seed systems is an essential undertaking to enhance food system resilience. In the Northeast, there is a great deal of current seed work being undertaken, both commercially and non-commercially, but these activities remain largely disconnected. Part of the intent of the biennial NOGSC is to make connections across the region, but a self-identified concern among previous participants is that the attendance lacked diversity, thus limiting the perspectives represented. This project sought to diversify participation at the 2021 NOGSC and learn from these various perspectives to compile a needs assessment of the regional strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and challenges. Objective a. Although a difficult pivot, the format change - from in-person to virtual - of the 2021 NOGSC was effective in enhancing access to the conference. At the 2019 NOGSC, 70 people attended the in-person conference; in 2021, 387 individuals attended. Among those who provided demographic information, 11 identified as Black or African-American, 11 as Indigenous/First Nations, 7 as Asian/Southeast Asian, 8 as Latinx, 30 as part of the LGBTQ community, 23 as low-income, 8 as immigrants or 1st generation, 4 as veterans, and 5 as physically disabled. To promote this diversity at the conference, a key aspect of this project was to provide free conference registrations to individuals who both engage in seed work and represented populations that had been underrepresented at previous NOGSC iterations. In total, 91 free registrations were provided, including to 23 who identified as Black, 8 as Indigenous, and 8 students. The diversity in participation in participants was also reflected in conference presenters, which included representation from Native American, Black, Latinx, Asian, and LGBTQ communities. Objective b. To compile information relevant for a needs assessment, notes were taken at 17 conference sessions, a full day workshop was dedicated to a needs assessment exercise, and a post-conference survey was conducted (n=115, 30% response rate). Using these data sources, particular challenges in the regional seed system identified by participants included the ability to earn a livable wage through seed work, lack of employment opportunities in the commercial seed sector, a lack of access to land, high informational and knowledge requirements to scale and formalize seed production, and the complexity of legal and policy institutions governing seed systems. In addition, concern was also expressed regarding the lack of expertise in universities focused on plant breeding and seed production, especially geared towards diverse audiences. Preliminary findings from the post-conference survey provide further evidence of these challenges and other related challenges. Over 50% of respondents indicated that lack of time (64.28%), lack of financial capital (67.34%), and legal regulations around seeds (51.65%) were either challenging or very challenging. Another prominent challenge were the stresses the seed system experienced due to Covid-19. Conference participants indicated that the pandemic increased demand for seed in both commercial and non-commercial sectors but they didn't have the support they needed to meet these demands, like labor and adequate channels for sourcing seed. The opportunities identified by participants focused on the importance of building connections and networks across the region. Attendees expressed enthusiasm to share contact information, resources, and other kinds of support. In addition, there was an openness to address areas of tension between groups and power dynamics, especially around conversations of cultural relationships to seeds and resource distribution. Attendees, many of whom were white, were open with their desire on learning how to better navigate conversations and problems of racial inequality in the seed system. Preliminary survey results support qualitative observations regarding the energy around building the social infrastructure of the regional seed systems. Among survey respondents, 100.0% indicated they were interested or very interested in connecting with people from a different generation, 99.07% indicated they were interested or very interested in connecting with people of different races and ethnicities regarding seed work, and 99.07% were interested or very interested in connecting to people in a different state. In particular, interest in making these connections were driven by the desire to 'learn about other kinds of seed work that I am not involved in," "collaborate on research and experimentation," and "share cultural meaning around seed." Objective c. Across data collection activities, several specific ideas emerged to address the articulated barriers and opportunities. Participants articulated several areas of focus for future educational programming that would address both barriers to entry in selling seeds to seed companies and navigating legal policy. Survey respondents indicated that they would be most interested in educational opportunities covering: seed cleaning, seed quality tests, disease prevention and management, tools and equipment for processing seed, and intellectual property rights. Participants also indicated that strategies to mitigate future seed shortages include enhancing the distribution infrastructure in the region, with investments in seed libraries serving as one possibility to do so but also further engagement from universities in serving as a partner to help disseminate seeds and the develoment of seed cooperatives. Repeatedly, educational and training opportunities were highlighted as critical to pass on knowledge to younger and new seed savers. The Organic Seed Alliance has an internship model that could provide a model for any regional efforts. In order to continue to build regional networks, participants reaffirmed the importance of NOSGC. Among survey respondents, 96.88% indicated that they were satisfied or extremely satisfied with their experience at the conference. However, at the same time, participants also indicated that the NOSGC alone could not be relied upon to build regional networks and other strategies needed to be pursued including social media and partnering with universities. Across all strands of data collection, participants articulated the importance of more funding being made available to actualize these strategies. Objective d. An important guiding principle to the planning of the conference was to pursue this objective. As such, presenters represented various sectors in the seed system, including plant breeders, farmers, gardeners, seed companies, non-profits, community-based organizations, and researchers. Among the 31 attendees at the full-day needs assessment exercise, which was designed to foster interaction among stakeholders across the system, representation existed among community-based seed organizations, home-based seed workers, farmers who save seeds, plant breeders, seed companies, and seed producers. In addition to sessions focused on technical skills and knowledge, other sessions were organized around making connections: a general meet-up for Northeast seed growers, a meet-up for Indigenous seed savers, a session to meet and discuss contracts with seed companies, and a session to interact with seed activists and non-profits. Objective e. Although achieving this objective is ongoing, planning for the 2023 NOGSC is already underway. Several new partnerships emerged from the seed conference, with several grant proposals currently in process. As the data are further processed and analyzed, a report will be generated and disseminated to all participants as a basis for discussion at the 2023 NOGSC to inform iterative planning.
Publications
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