‘One community seed bank in each local government’ in the hills and mountain area of Nepal, is an advocacy agenda of CSB Nepal. However, there is a greater need to conduct dialogue and build the capacity of local government staff and elected bodies to move ahead along this line.

The CSB Nepal organizes formal and informal interactions with local government bodies and other stakeholders to improve their understanding of the importance of the community seed bank approach to promote on-farm conservation and sustainable utilization of local crop diversity. As a result of such initiatives, some local governments have increased investment in community seed banks.

The CSB Nepal also closely works with the Center for Crop Development and Agrobiodiversity Conservation (CCDABC) under the Department of Agriculture (DoA) on policies and programs related to agricultural biodiversity.

Since 2023, the DoA has started awarding community seed banks for their invaluable contribution to the conservation and use of local crop diversity during National Agrobiodiversity Week.

The chairperson of the CSB Nepal represents the farming community in the National Agrobiodiversity Coordination Committee (NABCC) in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development.

The CSB Nepal also collaborates with the National Agriculture Genetic Resources Center (National Genebank) for ex-situ conservation of local crop diversity.

The CSB Nepal is a member of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Farmers’ Rights under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) for the 2024-2025 biennium.

CSB Nepal also participates in national and international workshops, seminars, and symposiums and shares best practices, lessons learned, and experiences on community seed banks and Farmers’ Rights.

Similarly, CSB Nepal has also joined the Agroecology Coalition, a global platform established for food system transformation through agroecology.