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FAO ESA Research Market Seed Diversity
The Agriculture and
Development Economic Analysis Division (ESA) at FAO has initiated a research
program entitled “Using Markets to Promote the Sustainable Utilization of
Crop Genetic Resources” to analyze the effect of policies and
regulations on the level and content of crop genetic diversity accessible to
farmers via seed sales in markets. The program involves the development of
measures of crop genetic resource accessibility in agricultural seed and
grain markets for selected basic food crops, and relates them to the impacts
on food security and on farm crop genetic diversity. One of our key
hypotheses is that higher levels of diversity provided through the seed
supply system is beneficial to farmers, and leads to more crop diversity at
a local scale. We focus on markets as it is an increasingly important
source of seeds – particularly for poor farmers. A major challenge of the
program is the development of market level measures of accessibility which
include the dimension of crop genetic diversity.
Case studies are
being implemented in five countries under the program including two in
Africa: Mali and Kenya. The African studies focus on millet, sorghum and
pigeon pea, looking at the way that emergency seed relief, diversity and
seed fairs, and seed sector regulatory reform might impact the supply of
genetic diversity in marketed seeds. Collaborating partners include the
Institut d'Economie Rurale
(Mali), IFPRI, IPGRI and ICRISAT.
For further information about the project please contact:
Leslie Lipper, Economist, Agricultural and
Development Economic Analysis Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of
the U.N. Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome Italy tel. 39 06 5705
5342 email: leslie.lipper@fao.org.
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