ABSTRACT

This chapter presents key aspects of the operations and factors that influence the viability of community seed banks in Mali: goals and progress, functions and activities, supervision and management, technical issues, support and networking, policy and legal environment and sustainability. The banks receive support from national research bodies, such as the Unite des Ressources Genetiques at the Institut d'Economie Rurale, nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and international research and development institutions in the form of capacity-building support and small equipment. Beyond this, despite tacit recognition of their important role in the conservation of local varieties and in facilitating farmers' access to seeds for production, the banks do not benefit from any financial or material support. All laws and policies encourage local initiatives to maintain and conserve the diversity of plant genetic resources. Policy, laws and formal and informal institutions do not have a direct influence on the banks.