Securing the world’s crop diversity is a global concern and a prerequisite for future food and nutrition security. This diversity is particularly important for the small number of food crops that are responsible for significant amounts of the world’s food consumption.

In Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala corn has ben grown for almost 9,000 years. Communities and families have selected and saved their own corn seeds for generations. These seeds are incredibly diverse, reflecting specific geographic locations – various elevations, soil types, and weather conditions. This diversity of seeds needs to be preserved to help the world confront climate change!

There are large scientific institutions with very sophisticated seed banks. EPIC’s work is different. In EPIC’s agricultural programs, local farmers who are mostly indigenous are saving and continuing to plant the seeds that their own ancestors have planted. This preserves an incredible variety of seeds in an active accessible way. This is very important for the world to be able to produce sufficient nutritious food in the future.

EPIC’s program staff is very intentional and enthusiastic in their promotion of “criollo” (native) varieties. They are considered more likely to produce well, tastier, hardier, and even sacred.