Seed Libraries Act

TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE ) REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session 25 JUL 14 A11:44 SENATE RECEIVED BY: s. No. 517 Introduced by Senator Loren Legarda AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SEED LIBRARIES TO PROMOTE LOCAL BIODIVERSITY, FOOD SECURITY, COMMUNITY RESILIENCE, AND CLIMATE ADAPTATION, PROVIDING FOR A PHASED IMPLEMENTATION, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES EXPLANATORY NOTE The Philippines is a nation rich in both biological and cultural diversity. Yet, our food systems remain vulnerable. Smallholder farmers, who form the backbone of our agriculture, are increasingly dependent on costly, commercial seed varieties that must be repurchased every planting season. At the same time, the combined impacts of climate change, natural disasters, and market disruptions continue to expose weaknesses in our seed supply chains. Across generations, Filipino communities— including indigenous peoples, upland cultivators, and rural women—have preserved a powerful tradition: saving, exchanging, and protecting seeds. These time-honored practices have allowed farmers to maintain locally adapted varieties, suited to the soil, weather, and ecological conditions unique to each region. Today, however, these practices face the threat of extinction. This bill seeks to institutionalize seed libraries throughout the country. These are community-based facilities that will conserve, propagate, and distribute a wide range of viable, locally adapted seeds, including heirloom crops, native trees, and climate-resilient varieties. The goal is to improve access to diverse planting materials that support food security, ecological restoration, and community resilience.

Globally, seed libraries have evolved from simple shelves in community centers into vital tools of public policy. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) both emphasize the importance of community seed banks in promoting agricultural biodiversity and long-term resilience.1 Other countries, such as India, Brazil, and Kenya, have successfully integrated seed libraries into their rural development and climate adaptation programs. The Seed Libraries Act is informed by these international best practices but shaped by the Philippine context. It proposes a phased and locally grounded implementation, led by the Department of Agriculture and supported by key agencies such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and Department of the Interior and Local Government. Local government units, academic institutions, farmers' organizations, and indigenous cultural communities will play central roles in identifying sites, managing operations, and ensuring sustainability. Seed libraries shall also function as learning spaces. Through capacity-building programs and school-based initiatives, communities will gain practical skills in seed saving, propagation, and climate-adaptive agriculture. To promote transparency and inclusive access to information, a national seed library portal will be created. This platform will share anonymized, non-sensitive data on seed availability, usage patterns, and community engagement, consistent with open government data standards. This measure affirms the right of farmers and indigenous peoples to save, use, and exchange seeds. It also promotes innovation through incentives for seed donations, mobile libraries, seed fairs, and other locally driven models. Ultimately, this bill recognizes that food and seed sovereignty are critical foundations for a just, resilient, and self-reliant future. In view of these, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought. LOREN LEGARDA ^ Source: https://seeds.ca/cool_timeline/itpgrfa-international-seed-bank-treaty/

other of last TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE ) REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session JUL 14 A11:44 SENATE RI:CEIVED BY: S. No. 517 Introduced by Senator Loren Legarda AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SEED LIBRARIES TO PROMOTE LOCAL BIODIVERSITY, FOOD SECURITY, COMMUNITY RESILIENCE, AND CLIMATE ADAPTATION, PROVIDING FOR A PHASED IMPLEMENTATION, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Seed Libraries Act."

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to ensure food and

3 ecological security through the conservation, development, and equitable use of locally 4 adapted seeds, planting materials, and traditional knowledge systems. The State recognizes that access to diverse, resilient, and high-quality seeds is essential to 6 achieving food self-sufficiency, biodiversity restoration, and climate resilience, 7 particularly for smallholder farmers and vulnerable communities. The State shall uphold the rights of farmers and indigenous peoples to save, use, exchange, and propagate seeds, and shall promote inclusive and participatory mechanisms for seed sharing and innovation. In pursuit of these goals, the State shall institutionalize community-based seed libraries as decentralized platforms for securing seed access, preserving genetic diversity, and enabling adaptation to ecological and market changes.

Sec. 3. Establishment of Seed Libraries. -

a) The Department of Agriculture (DA), in coordination with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR,

Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), shall lead the phased establishment of seed libraries across provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays, prioritizing areas with food insecurity, climate vulnerability, and agricultural potential; b) Seed libraries shall serve as community-managed facilities for the collection, conservation, documentation, exchange, and propagation of diverse, locally adapted, and culturally significant seeds. These shall include food crops, native trees, climate-resilient varieties, medicinal plants, and indigenous or heirloom species; and c) The DA and partner agencies shall work with local government units (LGUs), farmers' organizations, indigenous cultural communities, women's cooperatives, and academic institutions to determine appropriate models, governance structures, and sustainability mechanisms for seed libraries, ensuring that these facilities respond to local agricultural and ecological priorities. The DA, DENR and DepEd shall coordinate and organize seminars, workshops and other trainings for the professional benefit of custodians of seed libraries and issue rules and regulations, individually or jointly, in order to support capacity building for seed collection, storage and germination.

Sec. 4. Functions of Seed Libraries. - Seed libraries shall perform the following

core functions, subject to further detail in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR): a) Maintain and conserve a diverse inventory of viable seeds suited to local conditions and agroecological zones, including food crops, traditional varieties, and species critical to nutrition, climate resilience, and ecosystem restoration; b) Facilitate equitable access to seeds through lending, exchange, or donation programs, including provisions for emergency seed relief during disasters, conflict, or supply disruptions;

c) Preserve and transmit knowledge by documenting and promoting both traditional and scientific practices in seed saving, germination, and propagation; d) Act as community learning hubs for capacity building, farmer education, youth engagement, and extension services focused on seed stewardship, agroecology, and climate-adaptive agriculture; e) Coordinate with national and international seed banks, genebanks, and research institutions for access to genetic diversity, technical expertise, and training resources; and f) Enable open access to seed-related data through digital platforms, consistent with national open government data policies, including anonymized datasets on seed usage, success rates, varietal diversity, and community needs.

Sec. 5. Seed Quality, Viability, and Knowledge Management. - The

implementing agencies shall, through the IRR, establish and periodically update standards and protocols on seed collection, handling, viability testing, documentation, and storage, incorporating both scientific and traditional systems. All seed libraries shall maintain basic records on seed sources, distribution, replenishment, and germination rates. These data, along with aggregate indicators of seed library performance, shall be published in a publicly accessible online platform maintained by the lead agency, subject to data privacy and intellectual property safeguards.

Sec. 6. Capacity Building and Education. - The DA, DENR, DepEd, and CHED,

in collaboration with technical institutions and LGUs, shall develop and implement training programs, toolkits, and learning materials on seed saving and conservation. Seed libraries shall be promoted as multi-use community knowledge centers, supporting hands-on agricultural education, research, and skills development for learners, farmers, and youth, and reinforcing the goals of food sovereignty, ecological awareness, and local innovation.

Sec. 7. Incentives and Support Measures. -

a) Donations in the form of seeds, planting materials, tools, equipment, facilities, or technical support to duly accredited seed libraries shall be

exempt from donor's tax and fully deductible from gross income, subject to rules issued by the Department of Finance; and b) LGUs, SUCs, and partner institutions shall be encouraged to adopt innovative operational models such as: Mobile or pop-up seed libraries; Open-access digital seed databases and interactive maps; Community- based seed fairs, bartering programs, and planting festivals; Climate- smart propagation units for adaptive varietals.

Sec. 8. Appropriations. - The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of

this Act shall be included in the General Appropriations Act of the year following its enactment into law and for the next five (5) years; thereafter, the appropriate units shall undertake the maintenance of seed libraries.

Sec. 9. Tax Exemption. All donations to all seed libraries, whether in seeds or

equipment to store and keep seeds viable, shall be valued and may be used for tax deduction purposes in full as long as the seed library custodian and his or her immediate supervisor accepts the donation as needed for its operations and stocking.

Sec. 10. Submission of Reports. - The Department of Agriculture (DA), in

coordination with the implementing agencies, shall submit an initial implementation report to the Committee on Agriculture of the Senate and the House of Representatives within one (1) year from the effectivity of this Act, and every year 20 thereafter. The report shall include: 1. The number and locations of seed libraries established; 2. Types and quantities of seeds collected, distributed, and replenished; 3. Indicators of seed viability, diversity, and usage performance; 4. Trainings, capacity-building activities, and community engagement conducted; 5. Budget utilization and resource requirements; and 6. Challenges encountered and recommendations for policy and operational improvement. To promote public transparency and accountability, the DA shall publish a public 30 version of the report annually through a national seed library portal, which shall include anonymized and non-sensitive datasets, in line with open government data 32 principles.

The DA shall maintain a publicly accessible national seed library portal to publish non-sensitive datasets, including seed varieties conserved and distributed, usage patterns, germination and replenishment rates, and community participation metrics. The portal shall support data visualization, interactivity, and public feedback mechanisms, consistent with open government data standards.

Sec. 11. Rules and Regulations. - Within one hundred twenty (120) days from

the approval of this Act, the DA, in coordination with the DENR, DepEd, CHED, and DILG, shall promulgate the implementing rules and regulations.

Sec. 12. Repealing Clause. - All acts, presidential decrees, executive orders,

10 and issuances inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

Sec. 13. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is declared

unconstitutional or inoperative, the other provisions not so declared shall remain in force and effect.

Sec. 14. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after

publication in a newspaper of general circulation. Approved,