ABSTRACT
In 2007 the European Commission launched the three-year research project “Farm Seed Opportunities” (FSO) to support the implementation of regulatory mechanisms that would both recognize and enhance the role of farmers in the conservation and reproduction of agro-biodiversity. Specifically, the project set out to examine the ways in which individuals and organizations engage in the multiplication, breeding, and adaptation of landraces and genetically heterogeneous crop varieties as a precondition to the effective implementation of agro-ecological, low-input or organic farming practices. Based on a survey of different initiatives in 17 European countries, as well as the realization of on-farm field trials, the FSO research team underscored how the evolution, adaptation, and sustainable use of crop genetic resources in Europe is increasingly premised upon the mobilization of networks of seed and knowledge exchange that provide farmers with the opportunity to engage in shared experiences of participatory plant breeding and collective innovation (Bocci et al. 2010; Chable et al. 2009).
