Of Stakes, Stems, and Cuttings: The Importance of Local Seed Systems in Traditional Amazonian Societies

Studies of indigenous agricultural systems in Amazonia often devote only limited attention to the accessibility and exchange of crop plant germplasm among Amerindian and folk peoples. I argue that scarcity of crop planting material—geographically, seasonally, and socially—in rural Amazonia has given rise to socioeconomic relations that profoundly influence indigenous agriculture and rural life. Access to seeds, cuttings, and other plant propagules is shown to be critical in the building and maintenance of crop and varietal diversity, in subsistence security for lowland farmers, and in market product specialization among traditional farmers. Further study of seed supply systems in Amazonia is needed to inform discussions of in situ crop conservation as well as intellectual property rights over plants and seed. Moreover, a focus on seed systems provides a new lens through which to study Amazonian peoples, their relations with one another, the market, and society.