About Us
Seed is part of our common cultural heritage – a living, natural resource that demands careful management to meet food needs now and into the future. Organic Seed Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that advances ethical seed solutions to meet food and farming needs in a changing world.
Each year we educate thousands of farmers and other agricultural community members, conduct professional organic plant breeding and seed production research, and advocate for national policies that strengthen organic seed systems. Our most recent State of Organic Seed report (2016) is part of an ongoing project to monitor the status of organic seed nationally and provides a roadmap for increasing the diversity, quality, and integrity of organic seed available to US farmers.
OSA has a fifteen-year track record as the leading organic seed institution in the US.
Our staff knows the seed business. We also have extensive experience with development of producer enterprises and maintain close working relationships with cooperative and economic development support centers around the country. We can help with business start-up or with re-tooling existing businesses. Read about one success FFSC and OSA partner to Implement Decentralized Seed Production and Marketing System
What We Offer
Over the last four decades, the seed industry has consolidated, and much of our commercial seed is now owned and managed in the hands of a few transnational firms. Intellectual property practices (e.g., utility patents on seed) stand out as a major cause. This control has stifled innovation in plant breeding, and creates barriers to improving the availability and integrity of organic seed.
OSA works to address consolidation through regional seed networks that result in transformative change at the national level. Our collaborative research projects emphasize diversity, ecology, and shared benefits. Our educational efforts build the base of knowledge necessary for stewarding seed and enhancing diversity through on-farm plant breeding and seed production. And our advocacy work promotes the benefits of organic seed while simultaneously confronting threats.
