In conversations about food systems transformation, we often look toward new technologies, global frameworks, or financial innovations. Yet a newly published book, All Starts With Seeds: Farmer-Scientist Journeys Towards Biodiversity and a Secure Future (November 6, 2025), invites us to look closer – to the hands, fields, and lived knowledge of traditional farmers who have safeguarded resilience for generations.
Written by agricultural biodiversity scientist Dr. Awegechew Teshome, the book chronicles decades of field experience across ten countries where ancestral crops still anchor local livelihoods. From Ethiopia’s highlands to the Andes, the Himalayas, South India, Central America, and the Sahel, Dr. Awegechew follows farmers who continue to nurture diversity in their fields, often quietly and against the odds. Their seed systems, stories, and innovations demonstrate that the foundations of sustainable agriculture are already with us, rooted in cultures that never fully turned away from biodiversity.
What makes this work especially relevant to today’s food systems agenda is its message: traditional farming knowledge is not a relic of the past, but a practical pathway for addressing climate change, regenerating ecosystems, and ensuring food security. The book highlights numerous examples where farmers and scientists collaborate to revive neglected crops, adapt to environmental stress, and rebuild agricultural resilience from the ground up.
Dr. Awegechew, an Ethiopian scientist with extensive global experience, brings both scientific rigor and deep respect for community knowledge. His career, spanning research in over 40 countries, reflects a lifelong commitment to elevating farmer-led innovation and strengthening policies that recognize farmers’ rights and contributions.
All Starts With Seeds is more than a collection of field stories. It is a reminder that the future of sustainable food systems depends on partnerships that value knowledge in all its forms. As global challenges intensify, this book calls us to pay attention to the custodians of biodiversity, and to work alongside them in shaping a secure and resilient future.
