Casas de sementes comunitárias no semeárido cearense: contexto histórico, programas e políticas de fortalecimento

Abstract

Creole varieties constitute the stock of genetic diversity and have been managed over the years in different regions by family farmers. Its conservation is carried out through Community Seed Houses (CSCs in Portugese). The article aims to present the context of the conservation of native seeds in the state of Ceará, Brazil and its importance for the maintenance of agrobiodiversity, as well as to highlight problems and advances in the context of CSCs and policies and projects aimed at conservation. In methodological terms, the techniques of literature review and document analysis were applied. The cultivation of native seeds and the conservation made possible by the CSCs are configured as a form of coexistence with the semiarid region. The loss of genetic diversity resulting from traditional monocultures, the fact of not having proper land for cultivation and the contamination of the native seeds by transgenic genotype and hybrid seeds, are problems highlighted in the context of CSCs.