Italy's Farmers Run a 14-Year-Old Seed House of Forgotten Grains

Rete Semi Rurali, founded in 2007 and based in Scandicci near Florence, is a network of 41 Italian farmer and civil-society organisations working to restore farmers' control over seed. Its Casa delle Sementi turned 14 in 2026 and holds material from farmer recovery and genebanks, shared each year through the Coltiviamo la diversita sowing campaign. Participants sign a transfer agreement, keep varieties alive, report results and return twice the seed they were given. Among the offerings is an evolutionary maize population built in 2018 from 27 F3 crosses of 18 Italian and Romanian local varieties.