Ghana's First Village Seed Banks Save Fonio and 57 Other Local Crops

NUS Network-Ghana, coordinated by Dr Daniel Nyadanu, promotes neglected and underutilised species through conservation of their genetic resources and farmer-managed seed banks. With Alliance Bioversity International and CIAT it launched the pilot community seed bank at Adawso in 2023, run with the Nyonkopa farmer group. In January 2026 it opened the Abrewankor Community Seed Bank in the Eastern Region with support from the Dutch Embassy, holding 58 varieties of maize, cowpea, groundnut, millet and fonio. Smallholders borrow seed and must return part of their harvest to keep the bank stocked.