The Regional Seed Fairs organized by PELUM Eswatini with Member Organizations and the Ministry of Agriculture served as a platform to promote Seed Sovereignty. The Member organizations, ACAT, COSPE, ESNAU, and Vusumnotfo, successfully hosted the fairs to enhance agroecology and food security by promoting the concept of Farmer Managed Seed Systems. Through promoting Farmer Managed Seed Systems, the fairs created awareness among farmers, researchers, government bodies, and non-organizations about alternative seeds and planting materials.
By bringing together local farmers, government bodies, non-organizations, and private companies, the fairs aimed to establish working contacts that will continue to develop independently. The events also enabled seed exchanges and networking opportunities. A total of 100 Small Scale Farmers and Extension Officers were trained on various experiences on Farmer managed systems and how to save seeds and they also shared seeds The fairs also aimed to create awareness among farmers, researchers, government, and non-organizations about alternative seeds and planting materials from farmers’ own sources.
By enabling local farmers, government bodies, non-organizations, and private companies to meet and exchange knowledge and experiences on old and new crops, the fairs strived to establish working contacts that will continue to exist and develop independent of outside facilitators. The events were attended by stakeholders such as the Woman Farmer Foundation (WFF), the Ministry of Agriculture, and TAVI.
