Funding: Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, European Union
Coordinator: University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
Time period: November 2017 - November 2020
Our global product supply rely on just a few, commonly cultivated plants, which are vulnerable to the increasingly extreme and unpredictable effects of climate change.
Under these challenging conditions, the wild relatives of regional crop varieties and cultivated plants are valuable resources. However, they are disappearing at an unprecedented rate, taking their possible benefits for society with them. In addition to ongoing ex situ activities, we have to work together to maintain the genetic diversity of plants in situ as well (on farms, in gardens and in nature), so that we can exploit their natural resilience in the future. For this, the Farmer’s Pride Project has established a new European network for the in situ protection and sustainable use of plant genetic resources.
To create a sustainable network for the active in situ protection of wild relatives of crops and regional varieties of cultivated plants. To expand our knowledge on how we to best take care of these resources in the future, working together with farmers and other land users. To provide better recognition, protection and incentives for the conservation and use of wild relatives of crops and regional varieties of cultivated plants in national and European policies and legislation. To facilitate access to plant genetic resources, and to promote their maintenance and use in order to ensure a sufficient and healthy food supply for future generations.The goals of this project are:
