LI-BIRD: Growing Nepal's Mountain Crop Diversity

LI-BIRD has worked with smallholder and indigenous farmers across Nepal's hills and high mountains since 1995, pairing participatory plant breeding with locally-run seed banks. It has helped rural communities establish 25 community seed banks nationwide, part of a wider Nepali movement now numbering over 50, that safeguard local crops such as cold-tolerant rice, native quinoa and traditional yam and taro varieties adapted to steep, high-altitude terrain. The organization now works across six provinces and 24 districts, including the remote Karnali mountain districts of Humla, Jumla and Mugu, focusing on food and nutrition security, agrobiodiversity and climate resilience for marginalized mountain farmers, especially women.