ABSTRACT
Over the last few years, three Brazilian states have approved laws aimed at providing a legal framework for community seed banks created and maintained by small-scale farmers' associations with the support of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and sometimes local governments. In four other states, similar bills are being discussed in the state legislative assemblies. The first jurisdiction to enact a law creating a community seed bank programme was Paraiba, one of smallest states in the northeast of Brazil where half the population lives in semi-arid regions. Alagoas, Bahia, Pernambuco and Minas Gerais are also located in the semi-arid region of Brazil. On 3 January 2008, the state of Alagoas approved law 6903/2008 establishing a community seed bank programme aimed at strenghtening community seed banks through public support for the rescue, multiplication, distribution and supply of seeds of local varieties.
