However, there is increasing pressure for farmers to use more uniform, genetically improved commercial seed varieties that cultured akoya pearl have been adjusted to produce higher yields in certain instances and become more resilient to specific diseases. These seed varieties have been catalogued, certified and given patents.
More traditional seed systems, on the other hand, emerged from farmers saving, replanting and exchanging seeds on informal and local leisure chairs markets, a system which still dominates many developing countries and on which farmers largely depend.
“As a result of a number of pressures, these commercial varieties are now threatening to disrupt the balance between these two seed systems,” said Mr. de Schutter.
An increasingly wide range of government-supported seed certification schemes which approve commercial varieties only allow pearl strand wholesale traditional seeds to be sold through very limited channels.
In addition, governments provide support packages, including seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and sometimes access to credit, that induce farmers to adopt the modified commercial seed varieties.
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