History of ReSeed

Sometimes, the worst decisions can lead to the best ideas! The story of Blockchain4Biodiversity (ReSeed) began in late 2017, when its Principal Investigator (PI), Mrinalini (Nalini) Kochupillai, lost almost her entire savings in two fraudulent Bitcoin-based ventures!

Determined to understand the technology behind this experience, she embarked on an intensive study of blockchain technology, including online courses offered by the University of Oxford. Little did she know that this would lead to a new research direction.

Before the Bitcoin debacle, Nalini had served as Co-Investigator of Sustainable Seed Innovations 1.0 project, funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council. Led by the University of Leeds and supported by the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition and the Sri Sri Institute for Agricultural Sciences and Technology Trust (SSIAST), the project brought together farmers and other stakeholders involved in “natural farming” and the in situ conservation of indigenous seeds, commonly known as desi beej. (See more about this project here)

The project compiled a farmer wish-list documenting the challenges faced by those conserving indigenous seeds and their ideas for overcoming them.

A few months into her blockchain studies, while juggling a course assignment and a paper deadline on agrobiodiversity conservation, Nalini had a eureka moment: could features of blockchain technology help address the challenges identified by India’s Natural farmers?

Her course assignment, titled Blockchain4Biodiversity, explored this possibility and received the top grade in her online class.

The original idea evolved into Sustainable Seed Innovations 2.0 project. The project was funded by the UK Global Challenges Research Fund, led by the University of Leeds, and supported by the Sri Sri Institute for Agricultural Sciences and Technology Trust (SSIAST) and the Art of Living, India. The project culminating in a position paper submitted to the Government of India in 2019.

The paper proposed a three-pronged approach to promoting sustainable seed innovations:

1. Reviving traditional ecological knowledge-based farming, including the active use of indigenous seeds (“Desi Beej”).
2. Transforming agricultural education and extension, so that sustainable, traditional knowledge-based farming systems are better integrated into curricula and training.
3. Rethinking incentives structures through features of blockchain technology, exploring how on and off chain set-ups could help track the downstream use of indigenous seeds and associated know-how and enable more equitable benefit-sharing with farmers.

The work was also discussed through contributions to SpicyIP, a leading Indian intellectual property blog.

Explore the original work through these links:

Position Paper: Incentivizing and Promoting Sustainable Seed Innovations in India — A Three-Pronged Approach

Sustainable Seed Innovations Blog Posts on SpicyIP

Over the following years, the initial idea developed into an interdisciplinary body of research spanning technology, law, ethics, and agricultural biodiversity.

2020 | Introducing Blockchain for Biodiversity to a Larger Audience

An article in European Seed explored the potential benefits of blockchain for agrobiodiversity conservation and farmers.

Read: Blockchain for Biodiversity — The Benefits for the Environment and for Farmers

2021 | Examining the Possibilities and Limitations

Collaborating with blockchain experts resulted in a peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Cleaner Production examined how blockchain-based solutions might incentivise research and innovation involving agrobiodiversity conserved in situ, while recognising their practical and institutional limitations.

Read the article: Incentivizing Research & Innovation with Agrobiodiversity Conserved In Situ

2022–2023 | Expanding the Legal and Digital Dimensions

Further research explored two closely connected questions: how AI and blockchain might support the creation of a responsible digital marketplaces for agrobiodiversity and plant genetic sequence data, and whether international plant variety protection standards adequately accommodate agroecology and natural farming. You can read the resulting research papers here: 

Creating a Digital Marketplace for Agrobiodiversity and Plant Genetic Sequence Data: Legal and Ethical Considerations of an AI and Blockchain Based Solution

Cast into the Stones of International Law: A Critique of the UPOV Standards

Together, these contributions helped establish the interdisciplinary foundations for a broader research programme.