Farmer’s Pride / The project of the Hungarian Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (ÖMKi) for the in situ conservation of plant genetic resources
Global food networks are based on just a few cultivated plants which are vulnerable to the unpredictable effects of climate change becoming more and more extreme every year. In this environment full of challenges, landraces and crop wild relatives appear as important resources. Nonetheless, they are disappearing at an alarming rate, taking all the possible advantages with them. Besides the present ex situ conservation activities, we have to work together towards the in situ conservation of plant genetic resources on farms, in gardens and in nature. We have to reserve their potentials of adaptation for the agriculture of the future. In order to achieve this, the Farmer’s Pride project creates a new European network for the in situ conservation and the sustainable management of plant genetic resources.
Objectives of the project:
- Creating a sustainable network of crops, crop wild relatives and landraces for active in situ conservation.
- Broadening our knowledge about how we can best manage these resources in the future in cooperation with farmers and other land users.
- Providing more acknowledgement and protection for the conservation and the management of crop wild relatives and landraces on the level of national and European legislation.
- Making plant genetic resources more accessible and promoting their utilization in order to supply future generations with sufficient healthy food.
The task of ÖMKi is to describe the development and the management of a community genebank network with multiple actors through the study case of Magház - Community Network for the Diversity of Agriculture, in order to improve in situ conservation and the diversification of agriculture.
The project received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program.
Project coordination: University of Birmingham, UK
Duration: November 2017 - November 2020