ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the kinds of support community seed banks and its significance. Many seed banks received financial and material support to start up, build a seed-storage facility and acquire basic equipment and materials. In the United States, volunteers help with the retail store run by the community seed bank. In a number of countries, community seed banks have not yet become part of dense webs although this does not mean that they are not solid in terms of operations, governance and performance. The community seed bank receives technical guidance, and the national gene bank stores duplicate accessions of its varieties. The Bhutan government is developing a national strategy to establish and support community seed banks. National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) facilitated the link with support from Bioversity International. In Mali, a number of community seed banks, established with technical and financial support from USC Canada, now cooperate with similar local and regional initiatives through networks.
