With increasing demand for speciality and conservation seeds in the face of threats to the survival of local varieties and biodiversity more widely, IIED worked to provide research on research to stimulate public engagement and citizen involvement in decision-making.
The demand for speciality and conservation seeds has risen – yet at the same time the survival of local varieties and biodiversity have also been threatened.
The rise in demand was caused by a number of factors such as consumer demand for locally produced food, increased awareness that endangered agro-biodiversity must be preserved, and a decrease in the use of external inputs (such as pesticides and fertiliser) in organic farming.
The threats came from strict European Union rules on the marketing of seeds, the small market niches for such varieties and the marketing priorities of commercial companies.
What IIED did
The overall aims of this project were to:
- Develop methodologies with all relevant stakeholders for participatory breeding strategies
- Facilitate the marketing of landrace, conservation and special amateur seed varieties
- Provide information on scientific results and research in order to address the demand for locally produced food and the conservation of endangered agro-biodiversity, and
- Stimulate public engagement and citizen involvement in decision-making.
Additional resources
Innovative approaches in participatory research, on-farm conservation and the management of agricultural biodiversity in Europe, Michel Pimbert with Julie Dawson, Isabelle Goldringer, Patrick de Kochko, Guy Kastler and RSP farmers (2010)
Donors
The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Partners
Associazione Italiana per l’Agricoltura Biologica Italy
Istituto di genetica e sperimentazione agraria Nazareno Strimpelli
National Institute for Agricultural Research
Research Institute of Organic Agriculture