Participatory Plant Breeding &
Resilient Seed Systems:

Options for Stakeholder Engagement and Benefit Sharing

To be announced

Location to be determined

Scope

Resilient seed systems play a central role in sustainable food systems that are robust, dynamic, equitable, diverse, healthy and interconnected. Developing and strengthening these systems offers vital entry points for responding to critical global challenges of climate change, agricultural biodiversity, and sustainable development. Training in participatory breeding and seed system concepts, issues and approaches will support engaged professionals and graduate students to contribute to resilient seed system development. This course serves professionals who seek longer-term solutions for sustainable, agro-ecological agriculture and answers to the question: How can food systems be moved forward in the South and the North?
Key aspects of this course include:

• Concepts, strategies, methods and experiences with decentralised and participatory approaches to plant breeding and seed system development to increase agrobiodiversity and cope with climate changes
• Governance issues such as seed quality control, property rights, co-ownership and benefit sharing
• Specific approaches for different crop types and socio-economic contexts
• Multi-actor approaches, collaborative learning, knowledge sharing and networking approaches to engage food system and value chain actors into participatory plant breeding and resilient seed system programs
• The interaction of technical solutions and social choices: considering trade-offs and issues of inclusion/social equity and other values

This course may be of particular interest for programs and partners engaged in seed system development and is supported by Global Alliance for the Future of Food, EU projects Liveseed and Dynaversity, and the Root Tuber and Bananas CRP.

Draft programme

The course starts off with an introduction lecture. From Monday - Thursday, each morning starts with 3 - 4 lectures (30 minutes each), followed by a 30-minute discussion convened by 2 - 3 participants:

First day - Technical Breeding aspects

• Salvatore Ceccarelli (Rete Semi Rurali, Italy)
• Veronique Chable (INRA - Rennes, Dynaversity)
• Monica Messmer (FiBL-CH, Liveseed)
• Baloua Nebie (ICRISAT - Burkina Faso/Mali)

Second day - Involving actors of the value chain

• Martha Willcox (Cimmyt - Mexico, GAFF)
• Pratrap Shrestha (USC - Canada)
• Jan Low (CIP/SSA, CRP, RTB)

Third day - Creating innovative seed systems

• Conny Almekinders (WUR, RTB Africa)
• Edith Lammerts van Bueren (WUR)
• Eva Weltzien (University of Wisconsin)

Fourth day - Policy options

• Bert Visser (Oxfam Novib)
• Margaret McEwan (OFSP - Africa, RTB)
• Abishkar Subedi (WUR, ISSD Africa)
• Riccardo Bocci (RSR, Dynaversity)

GROUP WORK
In the afternoons, participants will work in small groups on a project proposal related to PPB supporting a seed system intervention perspective, and do literature research. The groups will be supervised by teachers and organizers. On the fifth day the groups will present the outcome of their work in a plenary session.

General information

More information

Prof.dr.ir. Edith Lammerts van Bueren (WUR)
Phone: +31 (0)6 10919736
Email: edith.lammertsvanbueren@wur.nl

Dr. Claudius van de Vijver (Graduate School PE&RC)
Phone: +31 (0) 317 485116
Email: claudius.vandevijver@wur.nl

Registration of interest

At this moment, this course is not scheduled yet. However, if you register your interest in this activity below, we will inform you as soon as the course is scheduled and registration of participation is opened.