Collaborative Plant Breeding for Organic Agricultural Systems in Developed Countries

Abstract

Because organic systems present complex environmental stress, plant breeders may either target very focused regions for different varieties, or create heterogeneous populations which can then evolve specific adaptation through on-farm cultivation and selection. This often leads to participatory plant breeding (PPB) strategies which take advantage of the specific knowledge of farmers. Participatory selection requires increased commitment and engagement on the part of the farmers and researchers. Projects may begin as researcher initiatives with farmer participation or farmer initiatives with researcher participation and over time evolve into true collaborations. These projects are difficult to plan in advance because by nature they change to respond to the priorities and interests of the collaborators. Projects need to provide relevant information and analysis in a time-frame that Sustainability 2011, 3 1207 is meaningful for farmers, while remaining scientifically rigorous and innovative. This paper presents two specific studies: the first was a researcher-designed experiment that assessed the potential adaptation of landraces to organic systems through on-farm cultivation and farmer selection. The second is a farmer-led plant breeding project to select bread wheat for organic systems in France. Over the course of these two projects, many discussions among farmers, researchers and farmers associations led to the development of methods that fit the objectives of those involved. This type of project is no longer researcher-led or farmer-led but instead an equal collaboration. Results from the two research projects and the strategy developed for an ongoing collaborative plant breeding project are discussed.

Seed exchange networks for agrobiodiversity conservation. A review

“…Similar collaborations can be envisaged in animal husbandry and in forestry (Berthouly et al 2009;Nyoka et al 2011;He et al 2012). Perspectives vary, sometimes markedly, among stakeholders (e.g., botanic gardens, farmers, government agencies, indigenous peoples, land managers, NGOs, rural movements, and seed companies) (Aplin and Heywood 2008;Chazdon et al 2009;Dawson et al 2011;Fischer et al 2012;Kennedy 2012;Rounsevell et al 2012).…”

Evolutionary Plant Breeding in Cereals—Into a New Era

“…With agricultural production facing the double challenge of mounting pressure from various stressors and increasing unpredictability of growing conditions, the benefits that evolutionary plant breeding has to offer are currently coming into sharper focus. Therefore it is timely that during the last decade several initiatives have (re-)introduced the concept of evolutionary breeding into larger scale on-farm research [59]. However, for two reasons a further expansion into agricultural practice is necessary.…”

Plant breeding for organic agriculture: something new?

“…Thus, participatory plant breeding (PPB) and evolutionary breeding (EB), have been proposed as suitable breeding methods to target OF [64][65][66][67][68]. These methods facilitate the selection for local adaptation and for the particular needs of farmers, they also empower farmers as they allow closer interaction between them and breeders and give farmers greater freedom to choose germplasm.…”