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Global Plan of Action 145.
Assessment: Genebank collections should enable
users to respond to new challenges and opportunities. Typically,
most genebank accessions have not been well characterized
and evaluated, a situation that leads to the underuse of
collections and failure to realise their full value, resulting
in high conservation costs in relation to derived benefits.
In
Country Reports, lack of characterization and evaluation is
cited as a major constraint to use of plant genetic resources
in breeding programmes . 146.
Plant breeders and most other users are interested in having
a manageable number of genotypes that possess or are likely
to possess the traits needed in their breeding programmes.
Identification
of those traits through characterization, and the establishment
of core collections (a subset selected to contain the maximum
available variation in a small number of accessions), are
measures that can encourage greater and more efficient use
of collections. Evaluation
can also aid identification of germplasm of potential for
more direct use by farmers. 147.
In addition, characterization and evaluation data as well
as the wise use of core collections are important in the overall
efficient and effective management of collections. 148.
Longterm objectives: To increase and improve
the ease of use of conserved plant genetic resources. To
facilitate innovative progress in plant breeding through promoting
the identification of useful accessions or their component
genes for introduction into genetic enhancement and plant
breeding programmes. To
promote plant breeding that results in higher levels of genetic
diversity in crops and agricultural systems. To
identify germplasm of potential value for direct use by farmers
in onfarm programmes. 149.
To promote the coordination of conservation, exploration and
improvement activities by targeting collecting expeditions,
optimising sampling strategies, optimising regeneration methodologies,
identifying gaps in collections, rationalizing collections,
establishing priorities for conservation, forming core collections,
and quantifying the relative effectiveness of ex situ and
in situ conservation. 150.
Intermediate objectives: To give high priority to the development
of crop specific characterization and evaluation programmes
to identify accessions and genes that counter those biotic
and abiotic stresses which are limiting production of those
crops. 151.
To improve the efficacy of the evaluation process by developing
and adapting new technologies for reliably identifying valuable
accessions and detecting valuable genes that have been identified
as valuable. 152.
To establish international core collections for crops of global
importance and promote establishment of genebankbased core
collections for key national crop collections in national
facilities. To
promote, improve and test methodologies and technologies for
important core collections. 153.
Policy/strategy: Governments with the cooperation
of the relevant UN bodies and regional, intergovernmental
and nongovernmental organizations, international agricultural
research centres, and including the private sector, and taking
into consideration views of the scientific community and farmers'
organizations and their communities should: (a)
define priorities and periodically assess progress in evaluation
in relation to the different needs of the various users of
plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, with emphasis
on identifying traits that counter limits to production in
staple crops and of crops of national economic importance;
(b)
promote collaboration and complementarity between breeders,
researchers, farmers and genebanks; (c)
encourage exchange of characterization and evaluation information;
(d)
note that access to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture
is subject to applicable international agreements. In
compliance with such agreements, users of plant genetic resources
for food and agriculture should be encouraged to agree to
provisions for sharing relevant evaluation data with source
institutes, giving also due regard to the special needs of
commercial users for appropriate confidentiality; (e)
give appropriate financial support for characterization and
evaluation programmes for crop species of primary or exclusive
importance to food security in their countries, given the
importance of medium and longterm financing. 154.
Crop networks and genebanks should proceed carefully to develop
core collections of crops of major interest to the national
systems. While
core collections provide guidance on the constitution of genebank
collections, they do not replace them. Genebanks
should not use the existence of a core collection as an excuse
for allowing conservation conditions for other accessions
in the collection to deteriorate. 155.
Capacity: Support should be given to begin a
stepbystep, targeted characterization and evaluation programme
for selected priority germplasm. The
characterization and evaluation process would begin with an
assessment of current information and an effort to assemble,
collate, computerize, and make available existing information
contained in notes, reports, punched cards, etc. Much
evaluation work needs to be done in a useoriented, site
specific manner. 156.
Governments and appropriate organizations should identify
institutions and individuals who may have the capacity and
expertise to carry out germplasm characterization and evaluation
for specific stresses and should develop a national portfolio
of such expertise, including farmers in high stress areas
who may perform preliminary evaluation to identify subsets
of accessions that hold promise for further evaluation under
more stringent scientific conditions. The
cost efficiency of subcontracting evaluation work should
also be investigated as well as cooperative programmes between
national programmes and the private sector, such as the LAMP
(Latin American Maize Project) project. 157.
National programme staff should receive training in germplasm
characterization and evaluation techniques on a cropspecific
basis. Such
training should begin with crops deemed important nationally,
and for which there are current or planned breeding programmes.
158.
Support training of farmers, including women farmers, participating
in onfarm evaluation programmes, in the necessary relevant
skills. As
their responsibilities often extend from the propagation,
production and harvesting of crops to the processing, storage
and preparation of foods, women's knowledge of the uses and
usefulness of plants is often extensive. 159.
Appropriate technical and financial support should be given
for multiplication of core collection germplasm. 160.
Research/technology: Various kinds of research
must be undertaken if the cost effective use of current collections
is to be encouraged. This
could include access to the latest technology and support
for scientific research to improve characterization and evaluation
techniques. 161.
Research priorities relating to core collections include developing:
(a)
improved methods of germplasm characterization using, inter
alia, biochemical and molecular biological methods; (b)
improved diversity stratification procedures; (c)
methods for validating core collection selections; (d)
methods for linking core collection to the main collection
(sampling strategies); (e)
improved methods of using plant genetic resources for food
and agriculture, including targeted trait detection. 162.
Promote regional and international symposia of germplasm experts
to discuss the many technical issues involved in developing
and using core collections and to stimulate activity in this
area and complementarity with other aspects of the Global
Plan of Action. 163.
Coordination/administration: Characterization
and evaluation efforts should be planned and implemented with
the active participation of national programmes, and crop
and regional networks. As
appropriate, farmers' organizations, private companies and
their associations, and others might also be involved. 164.
Core collections should be developed with the active participation
of breeders and crop networks for major crops. Work
on core collections must be considered within and integrated
firmly in the context of the entire effort to improve utilization.
165.
Cooperation and exchange of information are needed, especially
by developing country genebanks that manage collections of
wide species diversity without corresponding specialization
among staff for all species. 166.
There should be periodic assessments of the use of core collections
to guide future work and assist in setting priorities. Such
assessments should be made in conjunction with plant breeders
and in consultation with appropriate international agencies,
institutions, and NGOs. 167.
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