Four firms control more than half of the world's seed supply. Italian farmers are fighting back and returning to the bartering system | Fortune

A farming network in Italy says it is fighting back against seed and chemical giants by building a “distributed seed house” where farmers save, reproduce and trade non-patented seeds outside genetic modification. The effort, run by Rete per l’Agricoltura Naturale (RAN), took shape on Aug. 7 in the Marche hills after a Facebook post drew more than 1,600 sign-ups within days; the workshop sold out in a week. Farmers face legal risk because replanting patented seeds can lead to lawsuits. The article notes that Bayer, Corteva, Syngenta and BASF control 56% of the world’s commercial seed market and 61% of pesticide sales, with Bayer holding 23% of global seeds. RAN says it will repeat workshops in future seasons and aims to operate again across a 2026 calendar. The consolidation story traces mergers—including Bayer’s $63 billion Monsanto acquisition in 2018—and how the same four firms sell both seeds and compatible pesticides.