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Tropentag 2022, September 14 - 16, Prague, Germany

"Can agroecological farming feed the world? Farmers' and academia's views."


Genebanks and marginalised groups - how do CGIAR genebanks integrate the needs of marginalised farmers?

Sophia LĂĽttringhaus

HFFA Research, Germany


Abstract


Agrobiodiversity is crucial for food security and climate change adaptation. Further, plant genetic resources for food and agriculture have great cultural and economic value. They can be conserved in situ on farmers’ fields and ex situ in genebanks, or by dynamically combining both conservation methods. The largest and most frequently accessed network of global ex situ collections was created by the CGIAR genebanks, which safeguard cultivated plants and crop wild relatives. Smallholder farmers have been growing, selecting, conserving, and exchanging crop diversity since the beginning of farming, and such diversity is crucial for their food, nutrition, and livelihood security. Additionally, smallholder farmers play a major role in the provision of food for a growing world population and have significantly contributed genetic resources to the international collections of the CGIAR genebanks. Nevertheless, only 10 % of the germplasm held in CGIAR genebanks has been directly distributed to farmers. Most germplasm of these genebanks is received by agricultural research institutes, universities and national genebanks. Smallholder farmers are often marginalised and lack access to suitable and healthy plant genetic resources. Based on expert interviews and literature research, this analysis explores the needs and priorities of marginalised groups with respect to plant genetic resources, and how genebanks currently integrate these in their projects and strategies. Further, this research explores how genebank activities can be more inclusive to improve food security, climate change adaptation, and diversity conservation in the future. Thereby, the focus is on CGIAR genebanks and how their activities integrate the needs of women, youth, and indigenous groups.


Keywords: Adaptation, agriculture, agrobiodiversity, CGIAR, climate change, conservation, culture, food security, gender, genebanks, indigenous groups, marginalised groups, plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, smallholder farmers, women, youth


Contact Address: Sophia Lüttringhaus, HFFA Research, Bülowstr. 66/d2, 10783 Berlin, Germany, e-mail: sophia.luettringhaus@hffa-research.com


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