• What is the Seed System Lab?

  Seeds are entangled in the ecological, social, cultural and economic fabric of our lives. Seeds underpin food security and play a fundamental role in efforts to make food systems more sustainable. At the same time, seeds are 'big business'. Tension between the ecological, socio-cultural and economic aspects of seed is at the heart of 'seed struggles' around the world.  

  The Seed System Lab is a multi- and interdisciplinary research group at NMBU's Department of International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric) working on themes related to crop diversity, seed system development and seed security.  

  What is crop diversity, seed systems and seed security?  

  Crop diversity is the diversity of species and varieties of cultivated plants that has co-evolved and spread within and between farming communities around the world. Seed systems are understood as the actors, activities, and institutions involved in the maintenance of crop diversity, plant breeding and selection, seed production and dissemination. In short, they are the systems that make seed available to farmers. In theory, a well-functioning seed system will ensure seed security for all farmers, i.e., that “men and women within the household have sufficient access to adequate quantities of good quality seed and planting materials of preferred crop varieties at all times in both good and bad cropping seasons” (FAO 2016)  

  In the article Navigating toward resilient and inclusive seed systems, we outline a perspective on seed systems which draws on many strands of research, from crop science to social science. 

  

• What we do

  

  Our objective is to deliver:

  1) Cutting edge academic research

  2) Analyses of high value for policy and practice

  3) Education and knowledge for students and professionals in public and private organizations involved in seed system development 

  NMBU's Seed System Lab researches seed systems across geographical scales from the local to the national and global level.

  We research the different functions of seed systems from conservation and development (and evolution) of varieties to seed production and dissemination. We research these functions in the context of the multi-layered governance regimes they are part of as well as in the broader food systems they are part of. We also do research on seed system outcomes in terms of seed security as well as ‘higher order’ outcomes such as food security and food system sustainability.    

  No single discipline can grasp seed systems in their entirety. In the Seed System Lab, we have members and associates with different disciplinary backgrounds; crop science, agroecology, ethnobotany, anthropology, political ecology, political economy, development studies and economics. We work with research partners from other fields and faculties at NMBU and at other universities. We engage in co-production of seed system knowledge and innovation with stakeholders outside academia, including farmer organizations, civil society organizations and public institutions in the seed systems.  

  The Seed System Lab welcomes new students and collaborations - we encourage those interested to contact us. 

• Projects / Initiatives

  

  BOLD
  Biodiversity for Opportunities, Livelihoods and Development (2021-2030)

  

  ACCESS
  Access to seeds: From emergencies to seed system development (2019-2023)

  

  Seed System Toolkit
  Tools for characterizing and analyzing seed systems

  

  Sustainable Food Systems
  The Seed System Lab is part of this NMBU cross-faculty Sustainability Arena

• Upcoming Events

  NorDev25: Solidarity, social justice and sustainability

  The 8th Joint Nordic Development Research conference will be held at NMBU 24-26 September, 2025.

  The Seed System Lab is organizing Panel 22: Plant diversity for sustainable food systems.

• Courses

  • Agroecology and Development EDS352
    Runs every spring semester.
  • Governance of Plant Genetic Resources and Seeds: Laws, Policies and Practices EDS315 Runs in the June block - not every year.
  • Seed Systems of Opportunity Crops and the Diversification of Food Systems
    This is the 2025 edition of a series of postgraduate courses organized by the Virtual Seed Academy. Field course offered in Uganda, March 23-April 3, 2025, in collaboration with Wageningen University and Research, Makerere University and other partners.
• Publications

  2026

  • Farmers as breeders and seed producers: Insights from 30 years of scaling up seed clubs in Vietnam; Nguyen, Loi Huu, Sarah Paule Dalle, Shivali Sharma, Benjamin Kilian, Teshome Hunduma Mulesa, Tin Huynh Quang, and Ola Tveitereid Westengen; Outlook on Agriculture; link
  • Seeds and social norms: sorghum seed exchange among smallholder farmers in Northern Ethiopia; Wendmu, Tsedal Asres, Hugo J. de Boer, Clifton Makate, and Ola Westengen; Ecology and Society. link

  2025

  • Contribution of community seed banks to farmer seed systems and food security in Northern and Central Malawi; Tione, G., Westengen, O.T., Holden, S.T., Katengeza, S.P. and Makate, C; Food Policy; link
  • The dynamics of crop diversity and seed use in the context of recurrent climate shocks and poverty: Seasonal panel data evidence from rural Uganda; Makate C., Angelsen A., Holden S.T. & Westengen O.T.; World Development Perspectives; link
  • Three reasons why food system transformations are contested, and why food system scientists and policymakers should care; Westengen, O.T., Lecy, K.S., Angelsen, A., Aspholm, M.E., Bjugstad, N., Eriksen, S.H., Haug, R., Karlsson, C., Olsen, H.F., Rognli, O.A. and Schwarm, A; Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems; link
  • Sembrando la diversidad: Conociendo los sistemas de semillas utilizados por los agricultores en el Ecuador; Sarah Paule Dalle, Doménica Endara, José Luis Vaca, Hugo Carrera, Alberto Luis Bonilla, Ubaldo Guaranda, Doris Alicia Tixe, César Tapia, Teshome Hunduma Mulesa, Ola Westengen; Research report; link

  2024

  • From the wild to the market: the trade of edible plants in Guinea-Bissau; Leite, A., Westengen, O.T., Catarino, L., Monteiro, E., Mango, S.P., Indjai, B. and Cuní-Sanchez; Economic Botany; link
  • Smallholder access to purchased seeds in the presence of pervasive market imperfections and rainfall shocks: panel data evidence from Malawi and Ethiopia; Makate, C., Angelsen, A., Holden, S.T. and Westengen, O.T. ; Agricultural and Food Economics; link
  • Seeding diversity: enhancing farmers’ access to crop varieties and quality planting materials in Uganda’s seed systems; Mulesa, T.H., Otieno, G., Dalle, S.P., Mohamed, M.D. & Westengen, O.T; Research report; link

  2023

  • Navigating toward resilient and inclusive seed systems; Westengen, Ola T., Sarah Paule Dalle, and Teshome Hunduma Mulesa; Proceedings of the national academy of sciences. link.
  • Seed systems development to navigate multiple expectations in Ethiopia, Malawi and Tanzania; Haug R., Hella J.P., Mulesa T.H., Kakwera M.N. & Westengen O.T.; World Development Sustainability; link
  • Evolution of farm-level crop diversification and response to rainfall shocks in smallholder farming: Evidence from Malawi and Tanzania; Makate C., Angelsen A., Holden S.T. & Westengen O.T.; Ecological Economics; link
  • People Gathered by Sorghum: Cultural Practices and Sorghum Diversity in Northern Ethiopia; Wendmu T.A., Gebrelibanos T.S., Kovi M.R., Ring K.H., de Boer H.J., Abera F.A. & Westengen O.T.; Human Ecology; link
  • Rainfall shocks and inequality have heterogeneous effects on farmers' seed purchase decisions in East Africa; Makate C., Angelsen A., Holden S.T. & Westengen O.T.; Climate Risk Management; link

  2022

  • Exchange and experimentation: community seed banks strengthen farmers’ seed systems in Northern Malawi; Vansant E.C., Kerr R.B., Sørensen H., Phiri I. & Westengen O.T. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability; link
  • Maize variety preferences among smallholder farmers in Ethiopia: Implications for demand-led breeding and seed sector development; Marenya P., Wanyama R., Alemu S., Westengen O.T. & Jaleta M.; PLoS ONE; link
  • Cultural Effects on Sorghum Varieties Grown, Traits Preferred, and Seed Management Practices in Northern Ethiopia; Wendmu T.A., Cuni-Sanchez A., Abebe H.T., de Boer H.J., Abera F.A. & Westengen O.T.; Economic Botany; link
  • Crops in crises: Shocks shape smallholders' diversification in rural Ethiopia. World Development; Makate C., Angelsen A., Holden S.T. & Westengen O.T.; World Development; link

  2021

  • Regulating Seeds—A Challenging Task; Louwaars N. & De Jonge B; Agronomy; link

  • Politics of Seed in Ethiopia’s Agricultural Transformation: Pathways to Seed System Development; Mulesa T.H.; Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems; link
  • Discriminatory effects of gender disparities in improved seed and fertilizer use at the plot-level in Malawi and Tanzania; Makate C. & Mutenje M; World Development Perspectives; link
  • The imperial maize assemblage: maize dialectics in Malawi and India; Jakobsen J. & Westengen O.T.; Journal of Peasant Studies; link
  • Pluralistic Seed System Development: A Path to Seed Security? ; Mulesa T.H., Dalle S.P., Makate C., Haug R. & Westengen O.T.; Agronomy; link

  2020

  • Safeguarding a global seed heritage from Syria to Svalbard; Westengen O.T., Lusty C., Yazbek M., Amri A. & Asdal Å.; Nature Plants; link
  • Farmers and Plant Breeding – Current Approaches and Perspectives; Westengen O.T. & Winge T. (eds.) Routledge (Book); link
  • Seed security in theory and practice: A comparative study of seed security frameworks and their use; Dalle S.D. & Westengen O.T.; Noragric Report; link

  2019

  • Governing seeds in East Africa in the face of climate change: Assessing political and social outcomes; Westengen O.T., Haug R., Guthiga P. & Macharia E.J.F.; Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems; link
• Lab members and partners

  Core group

  PhD candidates and Master's students

  • Noel Templer, Department of International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric), NMBU and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) - PhD Candidate
  • Grace Tione, Department of International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric), NMBU - PhD Candidate

  • Jane Lakot, Department of International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric), NMBU - Master's student
  • Eilif Rønning, Department of International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric), NMBU - Master's student
  • Miluska Bravo Vela, Department of International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric), NMBU - Master's student

  Alumni and former members

  • Teshome Hunduma Mulesa, Norwegian Forum for Development and Environment (FORUM)
  • Tsedal Asres Wendmu, Department of International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric), NMBU
  • Tesfakiros Semere Gebrelibanos, Mekelle University, Ethiopia
  • Ida Arf Tarjem - Postdoctoral Associate (Tufan Lab), School of Integrative Plant Science Plant Breeding and Genetics Section, Cornell University
  • Mariana Garcia Medina, Wageningen University and Research International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT)
  • Loi Huu Nguyen, Lecturer, FPT Polytechnic University, Can Tho, Vietnam
  • Emelie Vansant, Postdoctoral researcher, University of Copenhagen
  • Gabriel Graton Roman, PhD Fellow in Anthropology, Université Libre de Bruxelles
  • Viviana Meixner Vásquez, Researcher, Fridtjof Nansen Institute

  Collaborating institutions

  • Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT – Uganda
  • Plant Genetic Resources Centre – Uganda
  • Makerere University Regional Centre for Crop Improvement – Uganda
  • National Plant Genetic Resources Centre – Tanzania
  • Sokoine University of Agriculture – Tanzania
  • International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre – Ethiopia
  • University of Abomey-Calavi Genetics, Biotechnology and Seed Science Centre – Benin
  • Comité Central de Mujeres de la UNORCAC – Ecuador
  • Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias – Ecuador
  • National Biodiversity Centre – Bhutan
  • Fridtjof Nansen Institute – Norway
  • Crop Trust – Germany

The Seed System Lab welcomes new students and collaborations - we enourage those interested to contact us.

Email us