Small-scale farming in the Gers, support for new farmers, and the establishment of a seed bank

 The ADEAR (Association for the Development of Agricultural and Rural Employment) of the Gers is a nonprofit organization established in 2001 by farmers committed to promoting small-scale farming,  enabling numerous, sustainable farm startups that support local communities.

Do you have a plan to start a farm? At ADEAR, we support both project leaders from the agricultural sector and those outside the family framework, providing tailored solutions for your project and needs (gradual establishment, atypical or diversified production, collective projects, with or without a DJA, etc.).

Today, it brings together established farmers and project leaders around a shared vision of agriculture: that of Peasant Agriculture:

• Economically viable farms
• Self-sufficient
• Transferable
• Respectful of nature and people
• Contributing to local development

Our activities at a glance

• Supporting settlement and succession in agriculture
• Offering diverse professional agricultural training
• Promoting small-scale farming
• Developing agricultural innovations and local supply chains

The origins of the creation of the House of Smallholder Seeds

Since the dawn of agriculture, the selection and propagation of seeds,  as well as the conservation and renewal of cultivated biodiversity, have been the result of farmers’ work, who set aside seeds from their harvest for the next one.  Today, farmers are concerned that this will effectively shut down all possibilities for developing farmer-selected seeds adapted to the needs of independent agroecology.

GERS FARMERS’ SEED CENTER

Our activities:

• Collection of vegetable, grain, and herb seeds...
• Exchange of expertise, training, and awareness-raising
• Propagation and conservation of local varieties
• Field experimentation: participatory selection, networking

The CASDAR project “Participatory Selection of Vegetable and Cereal Seeds” consists of three phases of action and ran for three years (2014 to 2017):

ACTION 1

Participatory selection adapted to agroecological practices

The experiments conducted by the collective aim to determine criteria for adaptability to resource-efficient production suited to local conditions. The collective approach involves jointly developing the criteria for evaluating the selection.

ACTION 2

A systemic approach to the use of farm-saved seeds on the farm

The systemic analysis of farm components aims to evaluate and optimize, through the development of technical and economic benchmarks, the impacts of using farm-saved seeds, particularly within the context of crop rotation practices.

ACTION 3

Collective management in the service of biodiversity

First and foremost, the goal is to carry out collaborative work to optimize collective organization among farmers regarding seeds.  The actions aim to examine common needs and potential pooling of resources (equipment, mutual assistance, distribution of plant material) and to measure the economic benefit within the collective.