In agriculture, the future may sometimes look surprisingly like the past. And some of the Philippines’ best climate insurance may be sitting quietly in an heirloom seed.
Naturland and Global Seed Savers Philippines are stepping up efforts to protect traditional and heirloom seeds, arguing that crops handed down through generations could help Filipino farmers build more resilient food systems as climate change and biodiversity loss put more pressure on agriculture.
The partnership combines Naturland’s expertise in organic agriculture with Global Seed Savers Philippines’ community-based work on seed conservation. The groups are exploring approaches to organic seed quality assurance and certification while supporting the production and availability of locally adapted varieties.
Their work received a new boost with the launch of the Seed Catalogue of Traditional & Heirloom Seeds in the Philippines during Organic Day at Conrad Manila on July 31.
Developed by Global Seed Savers Philippines with support from Naturland, the catalogue documents 37 traditional and heirloom crops grown across the country, including rice, corn, adlai, and kabog.
It is part reference book, part agricultural time capsule. More importantly, it puts information about locally adapted crops within reach of farmers, researchers, educators, and communities that can help keep those varieties alive in the fields.
“Every traditional and heirloom seed tells the story of the communities that have cared for it over generations,” Global Seed Savers Philippines Executive Director Hal Atienza said.
That history may also turn out to be practical wisdom. Traditional varieties have adapted over decades to particular soils, weather patterns, pests, and local growing conditions, giving farmers a reservoir of genetic diversity that could become increasingly valuable as the climate grows less predictable.
Seed conservation, in other words, is not about putting old seeds behind glass. It is about keeping future choices on the table.
Atienza said conserving traditional varieties is crucial as farmers confront climate change and biodiversity loss, while greater seed diversity can strengthen food-system resilience and support seed sovereignty.
Naturland Managing Director for International Affairs Marco Schlüter said the catalogue provides a common resource from which broader action can develop.
“This catalogue gives farmers, researchers and communities a shared resource from which further action can grow,” Schlüter said.
Headquartered in Germany, Naturland is one of the world’s largest nonprofit organic farming associations, supporting more than 114,000 farmers in 60 countries through ecological, social, and fair-trade standards.
Global Seed Savers Philippines focuses on conserving the country’s agricultural biodiversity by collecting, documenting, and preserving traditional and heirloom seeds while promoting seed sovereignty among farming communities.
The partnership now aims to turn documentation into something more practical, improving farmers’ access to quality, locally adapted planting materials and strengthening local seed systems.
The irony is deliciously simple. As agriculture races toward smarter technologies, some of its most useful tools may come from the seeds farmers have been saving all along.
