ABSTRACT
Small-scale farmers (paysans) who are engaged in organic agriculture and regional production in France are increasingly avoiding the use of commercially developed hybrid maize varieties. They are also increasingly rejecting the use of – or are prohibited from using – genetically modified maize varieties. Instead of purchasing seed each year, they are maintaining local maize varieties. Since 2001, the Association for the Development of Organic Agriculture in Périgord (AgroBio Périgord) has been collecting and testing local maize varieties from France and other countries in its diversity platform. AgroBio Périgord has established a seed bank, Maison de la Semence Paysanne, for maintaining and providing farmers with access to local varieties. The Maison de la Semence Paysanne forms the basis for work related to the community management of biodiversity in France; it is described in more detail by Kendall and Gras in Chapter 1.7.
