Local Institutions and Plant Genetic Conservation: Exchange of Plant Genetic Resources in Rural Uzbekistan and some Theoretical Implications

SummaryThis paper contributes to the study of institutional relationships mediating the exchange and distribution of plant genetic resources (PGR) among farmers. Local systems of seed exchange often consider PGR a public good, the rights to which no one should be excluded from. Community-level institutions and local customs that facilitate the exchange of PGR are built around reducing transaction costs for information and of planting material. This paper draws from collective-action theory and empirical evidence from Uzbekistan to propose a conceptual approach for understanding farmer seed exchange systems. The case study shows how informal and formal institutions and local custom structure the exchange of PGR to be collectively beneficial to farmers.