External funding – public and private sources

Both public and private entities in France provide funding for farmers, farmers’ organizations and other stakeholders engaging in the conservation of PGRFA. In addition, Article 28 of the Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of 17 December 2013 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) requests Member States to establish measures in order to provide support for farmers and other stakeholders for the conservation and sustainable use and development of genetic resources in agriculture; genetic resources and breeding are also considered under the EU research program Horizon 2020 as a societal challenge. Examples are financial support of around 200,000 € annually for the national PGRFA conservation structure provided by the French Ministry of Agriculture through the French Variety and Seed Study and Control Group (GEVES), in addition to other contributions to support stakeholders and networks involved in the conservation and characterization of PGRFA, especially those under threat. Furthermore, the Groupement National Interprofessionnel des Semences et plants (GNIS), the French interbranch organization for seed, decided to contribute 175,000 € annually to the Benefit-sharing Fund of the ITPGRFA and the same amount to support French national PGR collections, both on a voluntary basis.