To request seeds CLICK HERE!

The World Seed Program of the New Forests Project was established in 1982 in order to bring training materials, educational assistance and high quality tree seeds to farmers, environmental groups, women's cooperatives, municipal governments and anyone interested in initiating a reforestation project. Through this program the New Forests Project has initiated over 4,400 projects in more than 120 countries. This equates to more than two million seeds per year, that are sowed and planted to help improve the lives of individuals and communities and alleviating the devastating effects of global deforestation.

The World Seed Program distributes a wide range of fast growing, mostly nitrogen-fixing tree seeds, which are primarily used in the tropics. Due to their fast growth of up to 8 meters a year, the species provided by NFP have a wide variety of uses. They are able to stabilize and regenerate degraded and infertile soil, provide farmers with fuel for cooking, lumber for construction and fodder for their livestock. Multipurpose trees also offer poor communities a viable option to harvesting their locally endangered and degraded forests, reducing pressure on these important resources and allowing them to regenerate naturally. Finally, the presence of trees has the potential to mitigate the impacts of climate change due to their carbon sequestration capacity.v

The World Seed Program does its best to match each seed request with tree species that have the best chances of surviving at each specific site. For further information on the various tree species that NFP distributes CLICK HERE. To order seeds CLICK HERE!

The World Seed Program is advertised throughout the globe in various journals, magazines and via radio. However, word of mouth remains a very popular means of connecting with our program. NFP sends most of its seed packets to farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America, but is also willing to work with all people in other areas interested in reforestation.

Decentralization of Seed Distribution

The World Seed Program is currently decentralizing its seed distribution. This process has been initiated in order to address the rising costs of sending individual packets of seeds from the USA, and the need to work more closely with in-country groups. This long-term effort will result in fewer seed shipments of larger quantities of seeds. The groups receiving these seeds will have the capacity to distribute them to local people and provide support to these projects.

Providing Financial Support

The World Seed Program has initiated efforts to secure financial support for selected reforestation projects in Africa and Latin America. It has started by providing small grants to be used for different reforestation purposes such as training local people, purchasing native seedlings, purchasing nursery equipment or supporting irrigation projects. It is currently working on securing funding to further support reforestation projects around the developing world.

Agroforestry Networking

Because of its large database generated by the support provided to thousands of projects in more than 120 countries, the World Seed Program is in a unique position to promote networking among its beneficiaries. This support is provided by sending updated lists of contact information to hundreds of people in countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia, promoting exchange of information, seeds and experiences, locally and regionally.