BSF project "Strategic Partnership with Farmer Innovators for Adaptation & Management of Plant Genetic Resources to Climate Change"

" Strategic Partnership with Farmer Innovators for Adaptation & Management of Plant Genetic Resources to Climate Change" is one of the projects supported by the Benefit-Sharing Fund of the International Treaty for Food and Agriculture (Second Cycle). Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and the Philippines are all important centers of diversity of staple crops such as rice, maize, barley, wheat, finger millet and sorghum. Plant genetic resource management plays a vital role for farmers’ empowerment in these countries and is also an important tool for ensuring food security, local seed systems, adaptation to climate change challenges and the enhancement of livelihoods. Through this BSF project, SEARICE aims to strengthen the capacity of smallholder farmers, in particular women and indigenous communities, to manage on-farm diversity of cereals. Furthermore, this SAP envisages supporting the development of comprehensive national strategies for ex-situ and in situ conservation of cereals in Asia, and the building of national response frameworks to the climate change challenges from a PGRFA perspective. The project complements existing SEARICE programs to mainstream participatory plant breeding and on-farm conservation of food crops within national research and extension systems.