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BEST PRACTICES:
Dynamic Conservation and Participatory Plant Breeding in
France
In this example from France, four regional
projects, all carried out by regional farmers' organizations in cooperation
with the National Institute for Agricultural Research (Institut National de la
Recherche Agronomique, INRA), will demonstrate how participatory plant breeding
combined with dynamic conservation can create a reward and support system
beneficial both to the farmers involved and to the conservation of genetic
resources.
These four projects were all initiated by farmers to
create varieties more suited to organic agricultural practices than the F1
hybrids of modern agriculture. In collaboration with INRA they succeeded in
re-introducing traditional varieties and adapting them to their own needs and
to the local environments. From being almost lost and mostly conserved ex
situ, these old varieties and land-races are now being conserved on-farm,
as well as being developed further.
Reseau Semences Paysannes
(RSP), established by a group of farmers in 2003, is a network consisting
of about 40 groups and organizations of organic and conventional farmers and
gardeners, as well as NGOs and researchers, in various regions of France, but
mainly in the south and west. The aim of the network is to promote on-farm
dynamic conservation and management of genetic diversity, and to develop,
multiply and distribute locally-adapted varieties well suited for low-input
farming. It is also seen as important to foster knowledge exchange. The
activities of RSP consist in collecting and disseminating existing information,
as well as training of participants, evaluations of plants and taking part in
research programmes.
RSP manages a project aimed at
dynamic conservation and the breeding of wheat varieties for use in organic
farming and traditional baking. Experiences from the cultivation and breeding
of old varieties are collected and exchanged for use in modern farming systems.
RSP seeks to adapt the old varieties to their needs in terms of the ability of
the wheat plants to develop adequate biomass and root systems and adapt to
different soils and climatic conditions, as well as the characteristics wanted
in relation to suitability for millstone and traditional baking, the colours
and aromas of the resultant flour and bread, and nutritional qualities. The
project was started under the RSP in 2003, but some members have been
cultivating these varieties at least 10 years now. The wheat project is a
collaborative effort involving the various members of the RSP network, INRA and
private foundations who provide some of the funding. Roughly one hundred
farmers from the different regions in which the network operates are currently
active in the project. In addition there are an unknown number of less involved
farmers who participate in the meetings and use the varieties conserved and
developed in the network.
Biocivam 11 is an organization of
organic farmers in Languedoc Roussillon, France. Since 2005 it has been running
a project on participatory breeding of vegetable species for use in organic
farming. INRA has been involved in the project from time to time by helping
with the collection of genetic resources. Through this project Biocivam 11
supports a group of organic gardeners producing vegetables for sale, helping
them to find varieties adapted to local conditions and the preferences of their
customers. So far the project has mainly focused on tomatoes, aubergines,
lettuce and melon, but the plan is to expand the testing to include other
species as well. To find suitable plants Biocivam 11 looks for varieties in
ex situ and in situ collections. Then the chosen plants from
these varieties are tested on the farms or in the gardens of organic gardeners.
As part of the testing an agronomic follow-up is carried out, as well as
gustatory tests. The most interesting and promising varieties are presented in
an amateur catalogue, and the seeds are multiplied and conserved by an organic
seed producer. A commercial structure, 'Graines del Pais', was set up in 2005
to handle the dissemination of seeds. Although the project focuses on the
region of Languedoc Roussillon, it has had a national scope since 2007; and
through a partnership with the '4 seasons of gardening' store, amateur
gardeners from all over France have been given the opportunity to participate
in the tests. In 2008 Biocivam 11 plans to expand its testing to include
foreign seed collections as well. While perhaps a dozen producers from the
Languedoc Roussillon region are involved in the evaluation work, approximately
100 amateur gardeners from France as a whole contribute to the experiments.
About 400 consumers also take part in tests every year to determine the taste
potential of the varieties. In addition to the assistance from INRA, Biocivam
11 also receives support from RSP.
Bio
d'Aquitaine, located in the Aquitaine region of France, is another
organization encouraged by INRA researchers. Bio d'Aquitaine is a farmers'
organization which among other activities runs an extension service, and in
2001 it started the project 'L' Aquitaine cultive la biodiversitè'. This
project also focuses on dynamic conservation and breeding of varieties adapted
to organic agriculture. The main objective is to provide farmers with the seeds
and knowledge necessary for the cultivation of varieties adapted to an
agricultural system requiring fewer chemical inputs. They are engaged in the
preservation, multiplication and regeneration of these seeds and in the in
situ creation of what they call 'peasant varieties'. Between 200 and 400
farmers are to some extent involved in the project, some of them growing and
breeding a collection of varieties in their own fields. By placing farms and
farmers at the centre of the management of genetic resources, the project hopes
to offer an approach that is adaptive to changing environmental conditions and
consumer demands. The focus is on an assortment of different species and
varieties, especially maize, sunflower and soybean, and the goal is to
introduce varieties with appealing nutritional and gustatory qualities. The
work on maize was inspired by participatory breeding and the resultant
varieties in Brazil, and the breeding and conservation plan has drawn upon the
knowledge of indigenous communities in Central America. In addition to the
encouragement from INRA, which has been particularly important in providing
recognition to farmer breeding, the project also collaborates with
RSP.
Inter Bio Bretagne (IBB), a regional umbrella
organization for organic farmers, has been working together with INRA on the
fourth project to be highlighted here: participatory cauliflower breeding for
organic farming. Situated in the north of Brittany, France, the aim is to get
farmers, researchers and other actors to define the goals of organic breeding
together and collectively manage the seed production. This project was
initiated by INRA and IBB in 2001, as a response to the lack of cauliflower
varieties adapted to organic farming. At that time INRA had encouraged some of
its researchers to start projects geared towards organic farming, and the
cauliflower project was one of the results. Local cauliflowers and cabbages
have been at the centre of the project, but other vegetables are being
considered according to the needs of the farmers. Currently, some 30 farmers
are involved in the participatory breeding of cauliflowers and cabbages, while
around 250 organic vegetable farmers benefit from the increased availability of
organic seeds resulting from the project. The breeding programme started out at
PAIS, the agrobiological experimental station of IBB on the organic site of an
agricultural school, where genetic resources from several gene banks were
tested and evaluated. As a result of this project, organic farmers and traders
have been able to take control of the breeding and seed production of the
tested cauliflowers. Managing the seed production collectively makes it
possible to obtain the machines needed for harvesting, as well as for the
cleaning of seeds, in a financially viable manner, and it makes it easier to
organize quality testing.
All these four projects from different
regions of France have managed to spread awareness of the demise of genetic
diversity and the necessity of continued cultivation and in situ conservation.
Through participatory plant breeding, they have helped to re-introduce some of
the diversity that had vanished from the fields. Varieties that had disappeared
from the countryside and were mostly or only found in ex situ
collections are now being cultivated on-farm. This success came about as
farmers and their organizations joined forces with the scientists of INRA and
bred varieties suited to organic farming and in other ways adapted to the needs
of the farmers. Farmers have organized themselves and are collaborating in seed
production, and experiences and knowledge are being exchanged. Another
successful aspect of these projects has been the marketing of the produce, with
the consumers in some cases being involved in the testing to ensure that the
products match the preferences of the market.
One factor contributing to
the success of these projects has been the strong involvement of groups of
organic farmers and what Bio d'Aquitaine terms the 'extraordinary motivation'
of all involved stakeholders. Networks and networking have also played a
crucial role, and the various organizations are all highly aware of the
importance of the coalitions they have created and the cooperation they have
achieved. The researchers at INRA have made useful contributions. Moreover,
INRA's status as a national institute has helped to provide a degree of
legitimacy and security in a situation where the projects, by encouraging
dissemination of non-registered varieties, are actually breaking the law.
Biocivam 11 also credits some of the success to the limited choice of hybrid
varieties, their lack of adaptability to organic modes of production and the
poor taste quality of the resulting products.
As mentioned above, these
organizations are breaking the law in spreading non-registered varieties. The
law prohibiting this has negatively affected all these four projects, making
their work difficult. Under French law, which follows EU directives, only
varieties that have been registered may be marketed, distributed and sold. But
to be registered, the variety needs to meet certain criteria, as to
distinctness, uniformity and stability, and the value of use and cultivation.
For traditional varieties and land-races this is difficult, as they are
normally too genetically heterogeneous and the certification system is
fundamentally incompatible with the conservation and use of crop genetic
diversity. In addition, registration is expensive, and in many cases not a
viable option. There have been attempts at the EU level to solve this problem
by drafting regulations for conservation varieties, but without success so far.
The lack of recognition of the importance of on-farm conservation is a
challenge that the organizations find difficult to overcome.
Projects
like these can also be scaled up, and collaboration can be fruitful across
state borders. RSP has in cooperation with partners from other countries
launched a European extension of their project called 'Let's Liberate
Diversity'. This was done to bring their work for the cultivation of a wide
selection of varieties and against the detrimental European regulations up to
the EU level. In addition, both INRA and RSP are among the partners in the
European project 'Farm Seed Opportunities' launched in 2007. Since the
laws affecting their work often are EU regulations, it makes sense to
collaborate on the European level in addition to operating on a local and
regional scale.
For initiatives and organizations wishing to copy the
successes of these French projects and to create similar reward and support
systems, one central lesson is to facilitate the exchange of knowledge among
farmers and between farmers and researchers. It is important to remember that
farmers are often talented at breeding their own varieties and in organising
their own production, but that researchers can help them to identify useful
genetic material with the capacity to adapt to environmental factors. Another
lesson is the importance of creating smoothly functioning networks where the
inputs and contributions of all stakeholders are taken into consideration and
where information exchange and dissemination of knowledge can take
place.
It should also be borne in mind that waiting to implement
projects like these until favourable legislation is in place might mean a risk
of losing more genetic resources. Thus, in other European countries covered by
the same legislation, it might be necessary to go forward with projects
involving the exchange of non-registered varieties along with lobbying for the
laws to be changed. Similar projects might obtain the understanding and support
from some government agencies or national research institutes, as the French
projects received from INRA. All in all, this case from France shows that
benefit sharing can be promoted and support and reward systems created, through
participatory plant breeding, on-farm conservation and
networking.
(This text is based information from questionnaires
completed by representatives from the mentioned organizations)
Pages in this sub-section:
SUCCESS
STORIES ON BENEFIT-SHARING MEASURES
Creating incentive
structures from the ground in the Philippines
Community seed fairs in
Zimbabwe
Community gene banking and on-farm
conservation in India
Dynamic Conservation and Participatory
Plant Breeding in France
Participatory plant breeding adding
value in Nepal
Capacity-building for seed potato
selection in Kenya
The Peruvian Potato Park
Rewarding best
practices in Norway |
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