Gilroy, California, USA
June 27, 2011
Source: Eurofins STA Laboratories newsletter, June edition
By Connie O’Brien
There are few activities that we participate in that give us the feeling of satisfaction as does volunteering time, skill and experience for a humanitarian cause. Whether that cause is donating blood, driving nails for Habitat for Humanity, serving food at the local homeless shelter, ringing the Salvation Army bell at Christmas time, wrapping gifts for Toys for Tots or, for the Seed Analysis Lab, donating time and skill to Seed Program Incorporated, there is great reward for giving back to the community.
Volunteering the skills of ESTA’s seed analysts started with Linda Barbosa, the then Manager of the Seed Analysis Lab and Registered Seed Technologist (RST) and continues with ESTA’s new Seed Analysis Lab Manager, Connie O’Brien RST. Over the past 11 years, the Seed Analysis Lab has tested over 350 seed lots of different crops and species for Seed Program, Inc (SPI) with 16 of those samples being tested at this time.
Some of the crops we have conducted germination tests on include: cantaloupe and watermelon, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, garden bean, cucumber, pea, squash, mustard, tomato, radish, pepper, beet, onion, carrot, okra, Swiss chard, lettuce, pak choi, corn, brussel sprouts and kale. These bulk seeds are donated from private and commercial seed companies across the United States. I was pleasantly surprised to find that through the germination evaluation process, we could assess that the donated seed was mostly of high quality.
With a blessing from John Mizicko (ESTA’s President), Lorna Aochi (Associate Technician II), Benigna Alcantar (Lab Technician I) and I planted the donated seed samples as soon as they arrived, eager to share the results with SPI so the seeds could get packaged and shipped to the developing countries that they are destined for.
Seed Programs, Inc is a non-profit organization that is the brain child of John Batcha, a retired seed company executive and Rotarian member of the North Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Rotary Club. This Rotary Club has become especially involved in the international seed program.
Seed Programs Inc. receives donations of vegetable seeds and then they pay to have the seeds packaged in garden sized packets. The packets of seeds themselves have printed directions for germination, cultivation and storage printed on them in several common developing country languages. These seed packets are then sold to humanitarian groups at cost. Because there is so little cost involved, with the seed and germination testing donated, those humanitarian groups can ship the seed to communities in need.
The humanitarian groups help teach local poor and hungry communities how to garden. Not only does this help them supplement their mostly carbohydrate laden diet with nutritious vegetables, it helps sustain the communities by encouraging trade with their freshly harvested, brightly colored and exotic bounty. Many of these hungry people have never seen, or eaten, some of these vegetables before.
Millions of donated seed have been shipped and distributed to over 65 hungry developing countries. Some of the humanitarian organizations that are helping teach gardening, cultivating and preparation of the vegetables are grade schools, philanthropic and missionary groups. The vegetable production has been so successful in places that micro businesses have even been established. These business owners are then able to buy their own seed for the next crop from the profit of this year’s crop sales.
Seed Program Inc keeps the cost of operations low by inviting members of the seed industry to participate. There are only 2 paid members who organize the donated seed to be sent to areas compatible with the growing needs of the seed. All other services are donated by volunteers.
There is a Chinese proverb that says “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”. I feel very proud (and a little bit humble) that the Seed Analysis Lab may have played a very small part in helping feed a hungry community.
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