Registration Systems for Farmers’ Varieties: Ongoing Policy Dialogues and Experiences from the Field

Over the course of the last few decades, there has been a growing appreciation of farmers’ varieties. Because they increase production stability and resilience, farmers’ varieties sometimes outperform varieties coming from formal breeding programs, especially when cultivated in difficult environments and in systems where farmers cannot afford other inputs such as agrochemicals. In addition, farmers’ varieties are considered reservoirs of genetic diversity, to which plant researchers can go when they need to increase the genetic base of varieties and introduce valuable traits and characteristics in them. Despite their current and potential value, farmers’ varieties are usually not sold in the open market and tend to be limited to farmers’ informal networks. This article shares some measures attempting to adress this problem.