Agricultural plant diversity—the diversity of crops, their varieties, and wild relatives—is the bedrock of resilient agriculture and critical for the sustainability of our food production systems. Currently, the food and nutrition security of European society, as well as the sustainability of the agricultural economy, are dependent on a limited number of crops and varieties that are vulnerable to the increasingly extreme and uncertain impacts of climate change. Wild relatives of crops (crop wild relatives – CWR) and locally adapted cultivated varieties (landraces – LR) are genetically diverse, and rich sources of traits for the development of improved crop varieties resilient to these impacts, and LR themselves are important for their resilience and for the distinctive qualities of the crop produce. Worldwide, nations have acknowledged the imperative to conserve these resources through specific policy frameworks and legislative instruments, which emphasize the need for conservation in situ (on-site) to maintain a wide range of diversity and evolutionary change, as well as acknowledge the service provided by farmers and other growers to society through the cultivation of LR. Consequently, much research has been undertaken during the last two decades to build knowledge about the extent of CWR & LR diversity that exists, how to plan and enact its improved conservation, and how to enhance and expand the use of the conserved resources. Further, there have been many initiatives to create networks of people involved in the conservation and use of plant diversity. Building on this knowledge and existing structures, the Farmer’s Pride project has laid the foundations for a permanent Europe-wide network for in situ (in the wild and on-farm) conservation and sustainable use (C&SU) of CWR & LR to safeguard the future of agriculture, and of food and nutrition security in the region.
