Facilitation of family farmers and their organizations' access to plant genetic resources for agroecological food production

Since July 2019, the National Commission for Rural Development, the Agroecology Network, and the National Network of Native and Creole Seed are implementing "Articulating Biodiversity in Family Farming Production project." The project brings together different stakeholders and institutions, including thousands of family farmers in Uruguay. The project objective is to facilitate farmers' access to plant genetic resources to address climate change variability in collaboration with the Collective Centers for the Protection of Agrobiodiversity (CCRA), INIA's Germplasm Bank (BG), and the Faculty of Agronomy (UDELAR), which provide genetic materials of diverse origins and receive native and creole varieties provided by farmers. These materials are evaluated and multiplied on family farms and are disseminated to family farming communities. Sharing and exchange of information are facilitated through meetings and training workshops. Among the main results, cooperation between and among the local producers' organizations, research institutions, and state bodies to establish evaluation and multiplication plots for fodder crops, deciduous fruit crops, horticultural and cereal crops. The main lesson learned highlights the importance of cooperation between and among the institutions, local producers/family farming communities, and other actors involved as a fundamental element for the implementation and realization of the rights of farmers and peasants.