05nt-4430 - Developing Skill base for Institution Building
Green Foundation is an NGO which has succesfully facilitated the establishment of 48 Community Seed Banks for traditional crops throughout the State of Karnataka and in some cases Tamil Nadu. The Seed Banks are the cornerstone of the Green Foundation´s approach to promote the cultivation of traditional / indigeneous crops and organic cultivation practices. Facing it´s succes in establishment of the Seed Banks, Green Foundation has decided to establish a separate and autonomeous federation consisting of the representatives of the Community Seed Banks. The Native Seed Conservers Federation will be responsible for the management of the Seed Banks and function as a resource centre for documentation and knowledge dissemination related to agro-biodiversity and indigeneous knowledge. A market survey will be conducted to understand the size and preferences of the market and to formulate a business plan to further improve market access. The newly established Federation (registration in process: registration expected in April-May 2006) will furthermore need support in the development of management capacities, entrepreneurial skills and handling marketing operations (from production to collection, sorting, processing, packaging etc.).