Comments on: Climate change: Diversity the mother of invention? http://agro.biodiver.se/2007/04/climate-change-diversity-the-mother-of-invention/ Crops, animals, wild relatives ... Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:31:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Ron http://agro.biodiver.se/2007/04/climate-change-diversity-the-mother-of-invention/comment-page-1/#comment-10951 Ron Wed, 04 Apr 2007 12:45:48 +0000 http://agro.biodiver.se/2007/04/climate-change-diversity-the-mother-of-invention/#comment-10951 I agree completely that we need to get the ex situ collections into the field and into farmers hands. Saving seeds is not enough, there must be continual selection by farmers in the field to maintain the viability of crop varieties. Of course for there to be seed exchange and selection, there must be farmers. Maintenance of seed varieties is a community process involving many small farmers linked in regional networks. For this to work, we need to have healthy, viable rural communities. The agribusiness, globalized-trade policies of today do not encourage such communities, on the contrary. So part of "what we must do" is reorient policy to favor smallholder farmers and their families. I agree completely that we need to get the ex situ collections into the field and into farmers hands. Saving seeds is not enough, there must be continual selection by farmers in the field to maintain the viability of crop varieties.

Of course for there to be seed exchange and selection, there must be farmers. Maintenance of seed varieties is a community process involving many small farmers linked in regional networks. For this to work, we need to have healthy, viable rural communities. The agribusiness, globalized-trade policies of today do not encourage such communities, on the contrary. So part of “what we must do” is reorient policy to favor smallholder farmers and their families.

]]>