Seeds & Breeds for the 21st Century
Protecting our agricultural genetic diversity and expanding crop diversity is essential to the future viability of family farms, and may offer promising long-term solutions to address climate change and global food security. RAFI’s seeds and breeds work exists to protect our agricultural diversity by addressing some of the systemic policy root causes, such a lack of funding and public support for classical breeding programs. We lead efforts to reinvigorate publicly-held seeds and breeds.
Problems Addressed:
- Disappearing agricultural biodiversity
- Lack of funding for public breeding
- Increasing corporate power/control of seed industry
- Climate change and the need for regionally adapted seeds
- Lack of public awareness on the issues, root causes, implications and potential solutions
Our overall goal is to ensure and expand farmer, business and consumer choices for more diverse and improved public seed variety options that can better respond to rapid climate change and growing new market opportunities. We envision a strong public breeding sector that serves as a viable alternative to GMO driven systems.
Strategy:
• Advocacy for public policies that support, advance & reinvigorate classical public plant breeding.
• Community building, networking and grassroots education designed to bring together plant breeders, advance and promote plant breeding & provide opportunities for collaboration and peer-to-peer learning.
• On the ground research including developing a breeding program for the Southeast, working to develop an open source concept and other hands-on activities.
Projects
Seeds and Breeds for the 21st Century Coalition
Publications & Resources
- Public Variety Research a Priority, Farm Groups, Researchers Say (RAFI-USA Press Release June 2012)
- AFRI Classical Breeding Analysis & Recommendations (2011)
- Conventional/Classical Plant and Animal Breeding Provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill (2008)
- Summit Proceedings: Summit on Seeds & Breeds for 21st Century Agriculture (2003)
- The Second Report on the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources (2008). This FAO report provides a comprehensive overview of recent trends in PGRFA conservation and use around the world. It is based on information gathered from more than 100 countries, as well as from regional and international research and support organizations and academic programmes. The report documents the current status of plant genetic resources diversity, conservation and use, as well as the extent and role of national, regional and international efforts that underpin the contributions of PGRFA to food security. It highlights the most significant changes that have occurred in the sector since 1996, when the first report on The State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture was produced by FAO, as well as the gaps and needs that remain for setting future priorities.
- “Plant genetic resources, use them or lose them“, Fact Sheet produced by FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
