Every seed tells a story.           This idea is the inspiration for the name of our company – Seed Stories – and the images and 'stories' on our home pages. Seeds are the fundamental unit of agriculture, and if you look closely and ask a few questions, each one of them tells a story that leads to something bigger.           Maize and rice seeds tell us how their ancestors were carefully chosen by generations of farmers to grow hardy crops under a wide range of conditions. Today, scientists are using modern tools to look inside these same seeds and give them new powers, like greater vitamin content and the ability to withstand droughts and feed people in Africa even when the rainfall is limited.           New cotton varieties protect themselves from pests with technology that’s built into the seed. They’re used on farms ranging in size from 2 to 2000 acres, in combination with other agriculture practices that all work together to minimize the potential for damage from severe attacks.           The stories behind crops like papaya and sweet potatoes tell us why they’re planted by families in developing countries that depend on farming small plots of land for their food and income.           These simple stories then become seeds in their own right – seeds that can grow into greater curiosity, understanding and support for agriculture – no matter how complicated the science or policy issues become. For more on what inspires us, please visit the Seed Stories blog.               Copyright © 2010 Seed Stories. All rights reserved.