EVOLUTIONARY POPULATIONS: Living gene banks in farmers’ fields

Maryam Rahmanian, Maede Salimi, Khadija Razavi, Reza Haghparast, Salvatore Ceccarelli. (28/3/2014). EVOLUTIONARY POPULATIONS: Living gene banks in farmers’ fields. Farming Matters, March 2014, pp. 13-15.

Abstract

Rapidly increasing on-farm biodiversity is a matter of urgency in an era of climate change. Farmers often have limited access to genetic resources. Not only do they need greater access to the genetic material in research stations and gene banks, they also need to collaborate with scientists who are willing and able to work together with them to create new knowledge. The Evolutionary Plant Breeding programme in Iran is one example of what can be achieved when these challenges are overcome.