Estimating the relationships between access, exchange and sustainable utilization of plant genetic resources and poverty alleviation in Ethiopia

The focus of this project is on measuring the impact of seed system performance on farmers' access to plant genetic resources and the implications for farmer welfare (both production and consumption) as well as on farm agricultural biodiversity. The project has a dual purpose: to develop a methodology which can be widely applied and also to produce empirical evidence derived from case studies.

Ethiopia was selected for the case study because it is both a major center of diversity for crop varieties and also a country where productivity increases in agriculture are a critical necessity for moving out of widespread and chronic poverty.