ECPGR publication (endorsed by the ECPGR Steering Committee, January 2017)
This ECPGR concept document (endorsed January 2017) sets out a regional strategy for on-farm conservation and management of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) in Europe. It defines on-farm conservation and management, describes types of materials (landraces, obsolete cultivars, heterogeneous populations), production systems, and stakeholder roles. The document identifies five priority, Europe-level interventions suitable for ECPGR networking: (1) create a European Inventory of on-farm genetic diversity with agreed descriptors and data exchange; (2) develop practical indicators to monitor diversity and threat; (3) promote good practices and value-adding approaches (case studies, market development, re-introductions); (4) establish a network of most-appropriate areas (MAPAs) or sites of on-farm cultivated plant diversity; and (5) propose legal and technical solutions to obstacles (ownership, access, marketing, seed supply). An annex reviews international and EU policy instruments, relevant EU seed directives and funding opportunities (EAFRD, Horizon 2020), management approaches and actors. The concept emphasises complementarity with ex situ conservation, coordination with FAO and EU initiatives, and the need for sustained funding and national focal points to implement inventories and monitoring.
Key topics: on-farm conservation, plant genetic resources, landraces, agrobiodiversity, seed policy, EU seed legislation, inventories, monitoring indicators
