Country of Residence
Nigeria
Age
19
Project title
Seed Legacy
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
Seed Legacy builds community seed banks in Plateau State, Nigeria, to preserve indigenous seeds, document traditional knowledge, and provide farmers with a digital toolkit to adapt to climate change.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
https://www.instagram.com/seedlegacy_?stkn=MWkybDQyeWpoMHFndw==
Project Category
My project is an existing project that I started
Project Stage
Pilot-Stage (We’ve tried an activity or two)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
In 2025, I was talking to a farmer in Plateau State. She told me the seeds she used to plant every year were becoming harder and harder to keep. The rains come at the wrong time now. Droughts last longer. Pests are worse. What used to be reliable has become a gamble. That conversation stuck with me. I started reading and found out Nigeria has lost over 70% of its traditional crop varieties in just 50 years. The seeds are disappearing, and so is the knowledge of how to grow them. But here is what I could not stop thinking about: the solution is already here. Our elders still have these seeds. They still know how to grow them. And young people like me have the energy and the tech skills. There was just no bridge between them. So I decided to build that bridge. That is how Seed Legacy started. I registered the company, started visiting farmers, and began collecting information on indigenous varieties. I am a university student and I am doing this alone right now. To build the digital toolkit and set up the first seed bank, I need support. But I am committed. I want to make sure the next generation still has seeds to plant.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
In Plateau State, farmers are losing their harvests. The rains come at the wrong time now. Droughts last longer. Pests are worse than before. What used to be a reliable season has become a gamble. But there is another problem that people do not talk about as much. Our seeds are disappearing. Nigeria has lost over 70% of its traditional crop varieties in the last 50 years. The seeds our grandparents planted, the ones that survived droughts and pests for generations, are gone from most farms. Farmers now buy generic seeds from agro-dealers. They are expensive and often fail because they are not suited to our soil and weather. And when a harvest fails, there are no seeds left to save for next season. What makes this worse is that the knowledge is dying too. Our elders still know which seeds work best and how to grow them. But they are getting older, and most young people have left farming behind. When an elder passes away, that knowledge goes with them. This matters to me because I have seen it happening. I have sat with farmers who told me about seeds they can no longer find. They are not careless. They are losing something they cannot replace. And there is no system to help them document, test, or share what is left.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
Seed Legacy is a community seed bank project. But it is not just a store room. It is a system where elders and young people work together to preserve, test, and share indigenous seeds. Here is how it works. First, I partner with experienced farmers, mostly elders. We call them Guardian Farmers. They contribute seeds they have saved for years and the knowledge of how to grow them. I compensate them for their time and expertise, because this knowledge is valuable and deserves recognition. Second, we store these seeds properly in a community seed bank. We use airtight containers and label everything so nothing gets mixed up. We record the seeds physically and digitally so we can track what we have. Third, we plant these seeds in a communal trial garden. Guardian Farmers and trained youth work side by side. They plant different varieties and observe which ones handle drought, pests, and unpredictable weather better. Youth record what they see each week using a simple mobile tool. Fourth, after a growing season, we put all that data into what I call a digital resilience toolkit. It tells farmers which seeds work best for their specific conditions. If rains come late, they can see which variety survived that before. If pests are attacking, they know which seed resisted them. It is practical knowledge, built from their own soil. Fifth, the best seeds are multiplied and shared with farmers for free. The toolkit is shared openly so other communities can use it too. Each seed bank becomes a community cooperative, owned and run by the farmers themselves. The key thing is this: the solution already exists in our communities. The seeds are here. The knowledge is here. What was missing was a system to document, test, and share it. That is what Seed Legacy does.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
Right now, Seed Legacy is at the pilot stage. So the impact so far is smaller than what I hope for, but it is real. I have already spoken with farmers in Plateau State about the seeds they are losing. I have started collecting information on indigenous varieties and documenting what elders remember about how they were grown. I have also registered Seed Legacy as a company so it is a real organization, not just an idea. The biggest impact so far is awareness. Farmers and young people I have talked to are starting to see that our seeds are disappearing. Some of them did not realize the extent of it. Young people are especially interested because they see a way to use their tech skills to preserve something valuable. In the next stage, the impact will be more concrete. I want to establish one working seed bank with at least 15 preserved varieties and 8 Guardian Farmers. I want to train youth to document seed performance and build the first version of the digital toolkit. By the end of the pilot, farmers will have access to climate-resilient seeds that work for their land, and there will be a system in place to keep this going. The bigger picture is this: if it works here, it can work in other farming communities across Nigeria. The goal is not just to save seeds. It is to build a model that other communities can copy.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
Most agricultural programs in Nigeria focus on giving farmers improved seeds from research stations. They hand out the same varieties to everyone and hope it works. But they ignore two things: the seeds farmers already have, and the knowledge elders already hold. Seed Legacy does the opposite. We start with what is already here. The first thing that makes us different is that we treat elders as experts, not beneficiaries. Guardian Farmers are not just given seeds. They contribute their own indigenous seeds and the knowledge of how to grow them. We pay them for this. That does not happen in most programs. The second thing is that we test seeds together, in the same soil and weather that farmers actually face. Most research happens on stations. Ours happens in communal trial gardens where elders and youth work side by side. Farmers see the results with their own eyes, not in a report. The third thing is the digital toolkit. Right now, if a farmer wants to know which seed handles drought best, there is nowhere to look. That knowledge is scattered across different communities, held in different people's memories. We are building a simple tool that collects this knowledge in one place and makes it usable. It works offline and uses pictures, so farmers with basic phones can use it too. The fourth thing is that we share everything openly. The toolkit is not locked behind a paywall or a license. Any community can copy our model. We want this to spread, not to own it. So the innovation is not a new seed. It is a new way of connecting what already exists. Elders. Youth. Seeds. Knowledge. Technology. No one else in Plateau State is building this bridge, and I believe that is what makes Seed Legacy different.
How many people are on your team?
1
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
I am the sole founder. Right now I do everything myself, from planning to visiting farmers, while also studying at university. It is a lot, but I am committed. During the pilot, Guardian Farmers will lead on seed knowledge and planting. Youth Seed Guardians will handle data collection and testing the toolkit. I share leadership by letting them make real decisions, not just follow instructions. Later I want a technical advisor for the toolkit and a field coordinator for logistics.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Over the next year, I want to move Seed Legacy from planning to a working pilot. First, I will set up one community seed bank in Plateau State. I want to store at least 15 indigenous seed varieties and onboard 8 Guardian Farmers who will contribute seeds and knowledge. Second, I will train 15 young people as Seed Guardians. They will learn how to document seeds, collect data, and use a simple mobile tool. Third, we will plant a trial garden. Guardian Farmers and youth will work together, observing which seeds handle drought, pests, and unpredictable weather better. After one season, we will have real data from real conditions. Fourth, I will build the first version of the digital resilience toolkit. This is the part I am most excited about. It will tell farmers which seeds work best for their conditions. I want to test it with at least 10 farmers before sharing it more widely. Fifth, we will host a Seed and Story Fair. This is a community event where farmers can see the results, share knowledge, and collect free seeds. I also want to find a technical advisor for the toolkit and a field coordinator for logistics. I cannot do everything alone, and building the right support system is part of the plan.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
I encourage people by showing them what is at stake and making it easy to get involved. So far, I have spoken with farmers in Plateau State about the seeds they are losing. Many did not realize how serious it was until we talked. When I tell them Nigeria has lost over 70% of its traditional crop varieties in 50 years, they are shocked. Then they start remembering seeds they used to plant that are no longer around. That makes the problem real for them. For young people, I focus on the opportunity. This is not just farming. It is about using technology to preserve something valuable. They can learn data collection, work with their hands, and be part of something that matters. Many are interested because it gives them a reason to stay connected to their communities. I also lead by example. I am a university student doing this alone right now. When people see that I am serious, they take it seriously too. I have registered the company and started collecting seeds. That shows this is not just talk. In the future, I want to share our progress on social media. I want to post stories of the farmers we work with and the seeds we save, so more people can learn about the problem and see there is a solution. I also want to host community events like the Seed and Story Fair, where anyone can come, learn, and get involved.
