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Chapter 2

promote transparency in organic seed supply. The most recent efort has been

facilitated by OSA’s Information Working Group which focuses on organic seed

availability, production and information sharing (Dillon and Hubbard, 2011).

The working group invited broad stakeholder participation (representing eight

diverse organic organizations, members of the private sector and growers) to

develop the database. In collaboration with the Association of Oicial Seed

Certifying Agencies (AOSCA), the“Organic Seed Finder,”a national organic seed

database which is funded by participant use and donations was launched in

October 2012 (Hubbard, 2012).

Organizations supporting organic seed production

Organic seed production has become better structured as a range of new

organisations emerge to produce seed for commercial use (Adam, 2005;

MacDougall, 2005). One instance is the Family Farmers Seed Cooperative (FFSC)

which was formed in 2008 as a farmer-owned enterprise working to improve

varietal availability and quality to preserve open-pollinated (OP) varieties suited

to organic production systems, and to develop capacity for quality maintenance

and breeding of OP varieties. Another is the Saving Our Seed project, founded

in 2003, as a seed production organization that focuses on conservation and

training southeastern US farmers and extension agents in the production of

organic and heirloom seed. Others include a coordinated programme of research

and seed production training among a network of Southern organic farming

organizations, crop improvement associations, foundation seed producers,

small seed companies and growers. They are working together to increase the

availability of regionally adapted, open-pollinated, certiied organic seed, and to

establish a well-functioning Southern seed network. These examples illustrate

how a range of seed production and enterprise development initiatives have

evolved to build the capacity of organic farmers to produce their own seed,

develop small seed enterprises, develop regionally bred and adapted varieties,

and ensure that their interests are met in the organic seed systems.

Organizations supporting on-farm trials and breeding for organic variety

development

The OSA was established in 2004 and focuses on grower education and training

and is the irst organization dedicated exclusively to grower advocacy in the US

organic seed sector. Other similar grant funded initiatives include the Public

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