Support Mindanao's first seed bank
This year, Lunas is supporting farmer-led community groups in the Mindanao, Philippines as they establish the region’s first seed bank. Their goal is to revive native rice varieties lost to foreign agribusiness and commercial mono-crop farming.
The Philippines is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world and has been exploited heavily by multinationals like Dole and Monsanto. Aggressive promotion of GMO seeds has endangered and wiped out many indigenous crops, leaving farmers dependent on GMO varieties that are more vulnerable to flooding and the local climate.
Working with local farmers and rice seed specialists, our partner org has established over 180 rice trial farms to cultivate climate change-resistant rice varieties.
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Donate
​You can donate using the options below. Your support helps farming communities protect their land, strengthen their food systems, and build towards real sovereignty. Thank you!
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Venmo: @lunashealth, caption "Seed bank"
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Our volunteers visit one of the community rice trial farms for a field day harvesting seeds with the local farmers organizations.​ They reflect on the history of Spanish and US colonization of the Philippines and its impacts on agriculture and farmers, and the urgent need for a seed bank in Mindanao to preserve climate resistant and locally adapted native rice varieties.
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In the Philippines, extreme weather events continue to intensify due to climate change, leaving communities increasingly vulnerable to their impacts. Despite this, the Philippine government has not provided the resources to prepare communities for lost livelihoods and infrastructure, increased disease, malnutrition, injury, and death. These effects are worsened by the poverty that persists in climate risk zones such as flood-prone areas of Davao City.
