Public Policies and Food Sovereignty: The Case of Seed Access

This project focuses on investigating public policies in Ecuador related to seeds and their fundamental connection to food sovereignty, a constitutionally recognized right (Art. 281). Food sovereignty is defined as the producers' capacity to control the production process and the state's regulation of food policies, prioritizing self-sufficiency and the cultural appropriateness of food. The study identifies the seed as the critical initial link in this process, highlighting the state's obligation to promote the preservation, recovery of agrobiodiversity, and the free exchange of native seeds, as established by the Organic Law of Food Sovereignty (LORSA). Despite the legal framework promoting the protection of native seeds, the research points out a significant dependence on imported seeds for horticulture and agroecological production. The methodology includes analyzing secondary sources (regulations, international treaties, trade statistics) and fieldwork through focus groups and semi-structured interviews with horticultural producers (agroecological and conventional) in the parishes of La Esperanza (Pedro Moncayo) and San Joaquín (Cuenca), as well as surveys of agricultural input vendors, aiming to build a record on seed conservation and evaluate the implementation of current policies.<br/><br/><b>Goal</b>: <br/>To investigate Ecuadorian public policies related to seeds and analyze their impact and direct relationship with the concept of food sovereignty, contrasting constitutional and legal regulations with the reality of seed supply in horticultural production.<br/><br/><b>Research lines</b>: <br/>Development, territory, environment and interculturality