Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
the Réseau Semences Paysannes (RSP, Farmers' seed network), a farm-
ers' association dedicated to the conservation, cultivation and exchange of
diverse varieties. Farmers involved in this network grow historic varieties
and landraces because they are more suitable for their management prac-
tices and because of superior quality characteristics for on-farm process-
ing and direct sales to consumers. They also have a strong commitment
to preserving biodiversity, with some farmers growing over 200 different
varieties in small (5 m
2
) plots and continuously experimenting with new
varieties from different genebanks and collections. Demeulenaere et al. [5]
showed that a small group of farmers growing these types of populations
can make a signifi cant contribution to the conservation of genetic diversity
when compared to the diversity present in specifi c genebank accessions.
On-farm cultivation of these diverse varieties is an effective method of in
situ conservation which also conserves the evolutionary process [30-34].
In this paper, we fi rst present results from an experiment on the evolu-
tion of wheat landraces cultivated on-farm over 3 years, with farmer mass
selection in the fi nal year. This researcher-led project was designed to ad-
dress the need for more information on how on-farm selection and man-
agement affects the diversity of cultivated species and how these practices
can be optimized for both the conservation of important genetic resources
and the development of well-adapted varieties. Second, we present results
from a farmer-led plant breeding project that was initiated by farmers in
the RSP to create locally adapted varieties and increase farmer autonomy
in terms of varietal choice and seed production. In the fi rst case farm-
ers participated in a researcher-led project and in the second, researchers
participated in a farmer-led project. Finally, the process of developing a
collaborative plant breeding program for organic agriculture is presented
in the last two sections of the discussion, including lessons learned from
our current work and their implications for its future direction. It is chal-
lenging to develop sustainable collaborations with research strategies that
work for scientists and farmers, and the role of the RSP farmers' associa-
tion was critical in creating a successful model. We consider collaborative
plant breeding to be a method where interested parties participate equally
in the development, implementation and evaluation of a plant breeding
program. In our case, this included farmers who also mill their grain and
have on-farm bakeries, farmers' associations and public-sector research-
