Global Information System

Number of records: 233

111) Enhancement and protection of the products of local varieties of the Genova mountains by a consortium of farmers called ‘Consorzio della Quarantina’

Local associations can play an important role in the sustainable management of agrobiodiversity. They are particularly relevant in marginal areas to improve crop productivity and facilitate income-generation. The Consorzio della Quarantina is one example resulting from the research and works of scholars since the mid-1980s. Initially, the focus of research work was on recovery of a white-fleshed potato variety (Quarantina bianca), traditionally grown in the mountains of Genova. The Consortium has 39 members, 23 of whom are farmers. Among these, 15 are producers of the Quarantina potato. In addition, the association has two affiliated shops that buy the potatoes directly from the Consortium; and nine collaborating farm guesthouses and ‘Bed & Breakfasts’. Recently, the focus shifted towards developing new varieties obtained from the cultivation of real seed of the Quarantina variety. This project, supported by the Liguria Region, aims at improving the productivity and resistance to Downy mildew of Quarantina potatoes. Comparative trials have been established at nine farms, mainly in the province of Genova; data are collected over a period of six years. This aspect is relevant because it demonstrates how conservation is linked to innovation and how synergies can be created between the perpetuation of tradition and modernity.

Category: 3.Approaches to encourage income-generating activities to support farmers’ conservation and sustainable use of PGRFA

Type of measure/practice: Technical; Administrative

112) Conservation of traditional crop varieties

There are over 100 Dutch agrobiodiversity initiatives that are concerned with the conservation of traditional crop varieties. The Government of the Netherlands supports these initiatives, focused on the management of Dutch biocultural heritage, through the Centre for Genetic Resources the Netherlands (CGN). The CGN genebank, focusing mainly on vegetables and animal genetic resources, plays an important role in safeguarding genetic resources for the current and future generations of farmers. CGN is engaged in activaities including the development and maintenance of the knowledge-sharing platform ‘the Oerakker’, further development of the ‘Orange List’ for conservation varieties, support for the implementation of European conservation guidelines, regeneration of the last part of ‘Eternal Mash’ collection and its conservation under long-term genebank conditions. Moreover, CGN is involved in communication on biodiversity for better understanding of the conservation of genetic resources and their sustainable use.

Category: 9.Training, capacity development and public awareness creation

Type of measure/practice: Technical

113) Creation of a micro value-chain for a local variety of rye, the ‘Iermana’

This measure demonstrates the role that local authorities can play in supporting local development through on-farm conservation of traditional varieties. The objective was to support farming activities in marginal areas, rather than establishing some sort of an ‘open-air museum’. During the period 2013-2014, Agenzia Lucana di Sviluppo ed Innovazione in Agricoltura (ALSIA), an agency of the regional government of the Basilicata region supporting agricultural development and innovation, carried out a survey among farmers of the region to identify rye growers. Four farmers cultivating a total area of 2 ha with an old variety called ‘Iermana’ or ‘Germana’ were identified. In 2018, ALSIA succeeded in registering the local ‘Iermana’ rye variety on the Italian National Seed Catalogue in the ‘Conservation Varieties’ section. Activities for value-chain development allowed to increase the area cultivated with ‘Iermana’ rye from 2 to 15 ha, while the number of farmers cultivating the variety increased from 4 to 30. This success demonstrates the importance of the ‘conservation through use’ approach for the conservation of local PGRFA.

Category: 3.Approaches to encourage income-generating activities to support farmers’ conservation and sustainable use of PGRFA

Type of measure/practice: Technical; Administrative

114) Swiss Regulation on ‘Niche Varieties’

The Regulation on Niche Varieties, established by the amendment of Article 29 of the Regulation on Seed and Planting Material in 2010, has since then been implemented by the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG). The objective is to enable the sustainable use of PGRFA and reduce technical barriers for small-scale value chains. Through this measure, small-scale breeders, producer-communities (1-5 farmers), and non-profit organizations (>5 farmers) can save and use seeds of non-commercial varieties. Such ‘niche varieties’ benefit from a simplified procedure for market admission; official variety registration and certification of seeds or planting material are not required. Core components include: (1) authorization of a person / enterprise for marketing of seed other than specified in the general marketing regulation for seed and propagating material; (2) definition and control of the size of the niche (maximum annual amount of seed); and (3) application of plant health control measures. These measures allow for a complementary pathway for seed supply, in addition to the highly formalized system targeting commercial varieties, and has enabled sustainable use and further development of about 40 common vegetable varieties, several old varieties of crops with special characteristics, and even new varieties for specific market segments.

Category: 10.Legal measures for the implementation of Farmers’ Rights, such as legislative measures related to PGRFA.

Type of measure/practice: Administrative; Legal

115) Seeds of Expertise for the Vegetable Sector of Africa (SEVIA)

Seeds of Expertise for the Vegetable Sector of Africa (SEVIA) is a private-sector driven project that started in 2013, based on cooperation of two vegetable seed companies (East-West Seed and Rijk Zwaan), a department of Wageningen University and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In Tanzania, SEVIA collaborates with public and private sector partners, including the Tanzanian Horticulture Association. SEVIA aims to contribute to the development of the vegetable industry in Africa by testing existing genetic resources for Africa and breeding improved African vegetable varieties, and to increasing food security by developing and disseminating adapted technical innovations that enhance productivity and increase farmers’ income. Demonstrations in farmers’ fields are at the ‘heart’ of this project: SEVIA shows farmers – in different regions of Tanzania – how they can improve the cultivation practice, to increase the yield and quality of their vegetable production. SEVIA research has, for example, identified tomato varieties that are resistant to bacterial wilt and discovered that plastic mulch increases yields in cooler conditions and decreases yields in hot conditions.

Category: 6.Facilitation of farmers’ access to a diversity of PGRFA through community seed banks, seed networks and other measures improving farmers’ choices of a wider diversity of PGRFA.