The biodiverSEEDy project has a new website!

19.10.2016

Delicous potatoes.

The project has published a new webpage! Here you can read about what they are doing, who the persons behind the project are and look at pictures from fieldwork around the world.

About the project:
The conservation of genetic biodiversity in important crop plants is absolutely crucial for food security and the resilience of agricultural systems in the face of change, including climate change and the emergence of new pests and diseases.

There are two main approaches to the conservation of crop biodiversity – in situ approaches that seek to conserve biodiversity on farms and through ongoing cultivation of a range of varieties, and ex situ approaches in which seeds of different varieties are preserved in gene banks for future use and development. This project has studied both of these methods to conserve biodiversity within the agricultural industry.

In its work with in situ conservation of biodiversity, the project has focused on corn. Scientists are investigating the opportunities and challenges that arise when corn types preserved on farms in Mexico (where maize first emerged). Here uses the project biocultural approaches to strengthen indigenous peoples’ ability to preserve original corn varieties. Regarding ex situ conservation the project focuses on understanding the operation and philosophy of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which is used by genebanks worldwide as a safe-deposit box for its seed.

Read more about the project at their (new) homepage here.

Photo: Sarah Agapito-Tenfen