Of Stakes, Stems, and Cuttings

The Importance of Local Seed Systems in Traditional Amazonian Societies

Bibliographic Data

ID5801028
AuthorsOliver T Coomes (0000-0002-8220-8758, McGill University, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume62
Issue3
Pages323-334
Publication date2010-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Professional Geographer (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-0124 • E-ISSN: 1467-9272
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00330124.2010.483628
OpenAlexW2015690499
LanguageEN
Citations received22
References cited61

Studies of indigenous agricultural systems in Amazonia often devote only limited attention to the accessibility and exchange of crop plant germplasm among Amerindian and folk peoples. I argue that scarcity of crop planting material-geographically, seasonally, and socially-in rural Amazonia has given rise to socioeconomic relations that profoundly influence indigenous agriculture and rural life. Access to seeds, cuttings, and other plant propagules is shown to be critical in the building and maintenance of crop and varietal diversity, in subsistence security for lowland farmers, and in market product specialization among traditional farmers. Further study of seed supply systems in Amazonia is needed to inform discussions of in situ crop conservation as well as intellectual property rights over plants and seed. Moreover, a focus on seed systems provides a new lens through which to study Amazonian peoples, their relations with one another, the market, and society

Agricultural biodiversity · Agriculture · Agroforestry · Amazon rainforest · Biology · Business · Commercialization · Geography · Indigenous · Livelihood · Subsistence agriculture · Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development · Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory · Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management · Ecology · Marketing

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