BENGUET, Philippines — Anita Sinakay grew up with her farmer parents saving seeds, a practice she continues now that she has her own farm. Today, Sinakay heads the Benguet Association of Seed Savers (BASS), a group of organic farmers that was formed pre-pandemic to revive the dying practice of saving seeds among agricultural Indigenous groups in this province, including the Ibaloys and Kankanaeys. Sinakay, who farms in the highland town of Tublay in Benguet province in the Cordillera region, says she takes particular pride in her heirloom bean seeds, which have been grown and saved for more than 50 years. She says these beans, passed down to her by her parents, are particularly resilient to drought and other adverse weather conditions. Heirloom winged beans, grown from seeds cultivated and saved by Cordilleran farmers for more than 50 years. Image courtesy of Anita Sinakay. Many farmers have abandoned the time-consuming process of saving seeds, turning instead to high-input patented seeds promoted by the government and available from stores, agricultural offices and fellow farmers. But when conditions get tough, seed savers say, the value of heirloom seeds shines through. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration reports that the Cordillera region is experiencing drought due to El Niño, which is intensified by human-caused climate change, resulting in significantly below-average rainfall from December 2023 to May 2024. The region is well known for the ingenuity of its rice terraces, a sustainable system to harvest water from the mountaintops. However, many of its…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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