Question

Read the passage below carefully and answer the question that follows.

For decades, modern agricultural initiatives across West Africa have promoted the adoption of standardized commercial seed varieties to maximize seasonal crop yields. However, an increasing body of agricultural research highlights the indispensable role played by traditional community-based seed preservation networks among rural smallholder farmers. These informal systems allow local agriculturalists to select, store, and exchange indigenous crop varieties that have adapted over centuries to specific local soil conditions, erratic rainfall patterns, and endemic pests. While commercial hybrid seeds often promise rapid productivity gains, their cultivation frequently demands costly chemical inputs such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, placing a heavy financial burden on low-income farming households. Furthermore, the widespread displacement of native seeds by uniform commercial strains narrows regional biodiversity, increasing the vulnerability of food systems to sudden climatic shifts or pest outbreaks. Field assessments demonstrate that community seed banks not only preserve vital genetic diversity but also provide rural households with a reliable, affordable defense against environmental uncertainty. Therefore, sustainable agricultural policies in West Africa must actively support and integrate traditional seed preservation practices alongside modern innovations rather than seeking to supplant them entirely.

Which of the following statements best expresses the central argument of the passage?