Periodic Reporting for period 2 - Farmers Pride (Networking, partnerships and tools to enhance in situ conservation of European plant genetic resources)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2019-05-01 do 2021-07-31
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.
The Farmer’s Pride project has undertaken a wide range of inter-connected tasks to inform the establishment and development of a European network for in situ C&SU of CWR & LR diversity (European in situ network). The key work performed and main results achieved are: 1) the development of procedures for nominating and selecting populations and localities for inclusion in a European in situ network, including the advancement of common CWR & LR population management standards; 2) the identification of CWR & LR populations and localities that are a priority for conservation action based on a range of socio-economic value and genetic diversity criteria; 3) engagement with the full range of actors in the C&SU of CWR & LR, and encouragement of their participation in a European in situ network; 4) investigation and elaboration of options for integrating in situ and ex situ (off-site) management of CWR & LR diversity to provide easy access to the conserved resources for plant breeders, farmers and researchers to use for the improvement of food and agricultural crops; 5) a review of the existing policy and legislative framework for CWR & LR C&SU, and advocacy for the policy change required to establish and sustain a European in situ network; 6) the development of guidelines and tools to support stakeholders in a European in situ network; 7) the promotion of stronger integration between actors in local and national seed systems; 8) investigation and calculation of the costs and benefits of conserving LR (including the public’s willingness to pay for this service) and of farmers’ willingness to participate in conservation management, and the promotion of realistic incentive measures; 9) the identification of specific in situ CWR & LR populations containing traits (such as tolerance of drought or saline soils) valuable for use in crop improvement programmes; 10) analysis of the characteristics of existing local networks for the conservation of CWR & LR; and 11) the development of a framework and proposal for the governance and long-term operation of a European in situ network.
These activities have involved the direct participation of 19 project partner organizations, 19 ‘Farmer’s Pride Ambassadors’, and 8 members of the project’s External Advisory Board—together representing the full range of stakeholders in the C&SU of CWR & LR, including farmers and protected area managers, the private plant breeding and seed sector, researchers, and policymakers. Through the project’s dissemination, communications and advocacy activities, countless other stakeholders throughout Europe and beyond have been informed of the vital steps taken in the Farmer’s Pride project towards the establishment of a permanent system for in situ C&SU of CWR & LR diversity in Europe. This has garnered huge support and interest, and has resulted in a strong coalition of support for continuing with the formal establishment and development of a European in situ network in the months and years to come.
These activities have involved the direct participation of 19 project partner organizations, 19 ‘Farmer’s Pride Ambassadors’, and 8 members of the project’s External Advisory Board—together representing the full range of stakeholders in the C&SU of CWR & LR, including farmers and protected area managers, the private plant breeding and seed sector, researchers, and policymakers. Through the project’s dissemination, communications and advocacy activities, countless other stakeholders throughout Europe and beyond have been informed of the vital steps taken in the Farmer’s Pride project towards the establishment of a permanent system for in situ C&SU of CWR & LR diversity in Europe. This has garnered huge support and interest, and has resulted in a strong coalition of support for continuing with the formal establishment and development of a European in situ network in the months and years to come.
The project activities and main results achieved have taken the C&SU of CWR & LR diversity beyond the state of the art. For example, a critical aspect of successful C&SU of these resources is the integration of the in situ and ex situ conservation communities—both to provide access to material for use in crop improvement programmes, and to ensure that plant material conserved in situ is regularly collected and backed up ex situ as an insurance for potential loss of diversity in situ. The Farmer’s Pride project proposal for establishing a European in situ network, including procedures for integrating the in situ conservation management of CWR & LR populations with ex situ conservation in national genebanks (‘seed banks’), will at least double the agricultural plant diversity available for use, and consequently support a sustainable agriculture sector, as well as food and nutrition security for society. Further, our knowledge of CWR & LR diversity in situ in Europe has increased exponentially through the data collection and analyses carried out in the project, providing a critical basis for complementary (i.e. in situ and ex situ) conservation actions. The guidelines and tools developed in the project—including the publication of easily accessible information online (e.g. to support farmers in their choice of LR to cultivate, or to guide protected area managers in discovering which CWR species and populations occur in the sites they manage and how to go about incorporating them in their management regimes) represent a huge leap forward in terms of engaging and supporting the custodians of CWR & LR diversity. Vitally, the deeper understanding gained in the project of the costs and benefits of conserving LR diversity (including the public’s willingness to pay for this service) and of farmers’ willingness to participate in conservation management, as well as the promotion of realistic incentive measures (such as under the framework of the CAP), is a massive advancement in terms of allocating public resources for biodiversity conservation services. All together, the extensive achievements of the Farmer’s Pride project will have a notable impact on the region’s aim to become climate neutral by 2050 by underpinning the transition to diverse, resilient and sustainable agriculture, which is predicated on the C&SU of CWR & LR diversity. The full exploitation of the Farmer’s Pride results and outputs to advance systematic C&SU of agricultural plant diversity in Europe will impact the food and nutrition security of generations to come.