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In the pathway: Social and collective permaculture

Farmers' seeds

Reproducible varieties, selected locally by gardeners.

Watch the videoFaire ses semences au potagerPermaculture, agroécologie, etc.

Explanation

As opposed to F1 hybrids (not reproducible), population varieties evolve season after season and adapt to the terroir. Reproducing your own seeds provides food sovereignty, genetic diversity and resilience. A movement structured in France by the Réseau Semences Paysannes (created in 2003), Kokopelli, and many local associations (Croqueurs de Pommes, Mémoire Paysanne).

Refined definition

A “farmer's seed” is a reproducible seed (the seeds from the plant give a true-to-type offspring), unprotected by patent, selected and kept by the farmers or gardeners themselves. To be distinguished from F1 hybrids (from a controlled cross between two pure lines, not reproducible), from certified seeds of the official catalogue, and from GMOs. Population varieties (“landraces”) evolve over time: each generation adapts to the terroir where it is grown.

Key points

  • The French and European legal framework

    In France, only the sale of seeds registered in the Official Catalogue of Varieties is legal. Registration costs several thousand euros and requires the variety to be stable, practically impossible for population varieties. As a result, the SALE of farmers' seeds is heavily regulated (exchanges between farmers are tolerated, gifts are free). Exemptions nonetheless exist for “conservation” varieties of limited distribution (directive 2008/62/EC, transposed into French law), and the organic regulation (EU) 2018/848 has authorised, since 2022, the placing on the market of “organic heterogeneous plant reproductive material”, two openings for population varieties. Source: French Rural Code, articles L661-1 onward; directive 2008/62/EC; regulation (EU) 2018/848.

  • How to reproduce your own seeds

    ALLOGAMOUS (cross-pollinated by insects or wind: squash, courgette, corn): two varieties of the same species cross, so they must be isolated in space, in time (staggered sowings) or by hand pollination. AUTOGAMOUS (tomato, bean, pea, lettuce): they mostly fertilise themselves, so few precautions are needed (gauze bags possible). Harvest from the finest plants, dry well, store in a dry, cool place: isolation distances and seed lifespans are detailed in the guide Saving your own seeds.

  • The actors in France

    Réseau Semences Paysannes (RSP, Aiguillon, Lot-et-Garonne), a national federation, exchanges, advocacy. Kokopelli (Ariège), distribution to the general public, ~2200 varieties in the catalogue, a contested legal status. Croqueurs de Pommes: 80 branches for the conservation of local fruit varieties. Le Biau Germe (Lot-et-Garonne), Germinance (Maine-et-Loire), Semailles (Belgium), legal artisanal seed producers. Pascal Poot, a farmer and seed producer in the north of the Hérault, selects his seeds, tomatoes in particular, from plants watered only once, at planting (Rue89, 2015; AFP, 2022); he sells them with Rachel Poot on their website, Le Potager de Santé (lepotagerdesante.com).

Watch out for

  • • Not all old varieties are suited to every climate, look for varieties selected in a climatic region close to yours.
  • • Farmers' seeds are not “old” by nature: they are varieties in continuous selection by gardeners, in evolution.
  • • To start: begin with a self-pollinating plant (tomato, bean, lettuce), simpler to reproduce true to type.

Examples

  • • Tomato Cœur de Bœuf, Noire de Crimée, Marmande
  • • Bean Tarbais, Coco de Paimpol
  • • Population varieties of corn (Aspasie, Lavergne)
  • • Réseau Semences Paysannes, Kokopelli, Le Biau Germe (catalogues)

Sources

  • Code rural et de la pêche maritime, livre VI, titre VI, chapitre Ier : Les productions de semences et de plants (articles L661-1 à L661-18)
  • Directive 2008/62/CE de la Commission du 20 juin 2008 (variétés de conservation)
  • Règlement (UE) 2018/848 du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 30 mai 2018 relatif à la production biologique
  • Schepman, T. (2015). « Tomates sans eau ni pesticide : cette méthode fascine les biologistes ». Rue89 (L'Obs), mars 2015.
  • AFP (2022). « Des agriculteurs du sud de la France sur de nouvelles pistes pour contrer la sécheresse », dépêche du 22 septembre 2022, reprise par L'info durable (linfodurable.fr).
  • Le Potager de Santé, semences de Pascal et Rachel Poot : présentation « A propos de Nous » (lepotagerdesante.com, consultée le 6 octobre 2026).

See also