First in a number of projects aimed at assessing the state of agrobiodiversity in Europe, FSO inventoried the diversity of breeding initiatives of landraces and local varieties, to support the implementation of seed regulations on conservation varieties and to propose scenarios for the future of the European seed systems.
The following recommendations were issued by the researchers:
- Finding the right balance between formal and informal seed systems should be one of the objectives of a regional strategy for on farm conservation
- The use of local varieties and underutilised species relies on the protection of traditional knowledge and farmers’ rights
- Participatory plant breeding is a way of increasing farmers’ options and a measure of non-monetary benefit sharing
- Step up research on the impact of market instruments on agrobiodiversity
The deliverables and other documents from the project, including a booklet on conservation, breeding and production, are available on the website.
Project duration: 2007-2009
