Postgraduate course (‘Train-the trainers’) - Participatory Plant Breeding & Resilient Seed Systems: Options for Stakeholder Engagement and Benefit Sharing (original) (raw)

Scope of the course 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. In the Shared Action Framework for Resilient Seed Systems of the Global Alliance of the Future of Food it defined as one the most important actions needed (https://futureoffood.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/02/Resilient-Seed-Systems-Shared-Action-Framework-English.pdf). 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 socioeconomic 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 Participants This workshop is aimed at PhD candidates, postdocs, and other academics. 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. In the course of 2020, some 40 participants joined this course; 25 followed the full program including the afternoon sessions with group work. Among the participants were practical breeders, MSc students, PhD candidates, postdocs and other professionals. Countries they originated from: 21 Europe, 9 Africa, 4 Asia, 2 Latin Amerika and 3 USA. Besides, we had 17 lecturers from all parts of the world; many of them participated during a large part of or during the whole week, and were also actively involved in the afternoon sessions as source persons/advisors. Local organiser: Graduate School Production Ecology & Resource Conservation (PE&RC) hosted the course (Claudius van de Vijver and Jacqueline Verhoef-te Brake) together with Edith Lammerts van Bueren (Wageningen University and Research-Wageningen, the Netherlands)