The Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture Network (BFA-Net) is an e-mail based network managed by the Secretariat of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture that provides a platform for discussion of issues relevant to the management of the biodiversity that underpins the world’s agrifood systems.
Members can post messages can be posted in English, French or Spanish on any aspect of the management of biodiversity for food and agriculture, including on issues related to practical aspects of sustainable use and conservation (e.g. biodiversity-friendly production practice and approaches) and those related to policy, legal or institutional frameworks. Please find here the results of a survey conducted prior to the launch of BFA-Net to gauge levels of interest in the establishment of such a network and obtain views of what kinds of content would be of particular interest.
If you would like to become a member of BFA-Net, please click here to sign up. For further information, please see the frequently asked questions.
Frequently asked questions
Please visit the sign-up page and follow the instructions on the screen.
BFA-Net covers all aspects of the management of all components of biodiversity of relevance to food and agriculture at genetic, species and ecosystem levels, including domesticated crops and livestock and their wild relatives, forest trees, farmed aquatic species, species targeted by fisheries, and all the multiple components of biodiversity that keep production systems functioning, ranging from pollinators, soil-dwelling organisms and rumen microbes, to mangroves, coral reefs and grasslands.
BFA-Net is intended primarily as a forum for exchange of information between its members. If you have information to share or a question to raise with the BFA-Net community, please sign up.
Messages can be posted in English, French or Spanish. No translation is provided.
Yes, BFA-Net is moderated by the Secretariat of FAO’s Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which also periodically contributes information to the network.
Once you have signed up for BFA-Net, you can post a message by sending an e-mail to [email protected] or by replying to a message you receive.
You can also visit the BFA-Net website (https://dgroups.org/fao/bfa-net/), log in and click on the “Discussions” tab.
To access the website you will need to join BFA-Net and set up a password. If you sign up to BFA-Net and have not already set up a password for D-Groups (the platform that hosts the BFA-Net community), you will receive an e-mail providing instructions on how to do this. As a member, you can also go directly to mhttps://dgroups.org/fao/bfa-net/ and click on “Set a new password” in the box headed “Already a member of this community”.
The BFA-Net website provides access to active and archived discussion threads, a library of documents, a calendar of events and a list of members. If you click on “My account” you can view and edit your profile and set preferences for how you would like to receive BFA-Net messages.
Yes you can. Please log on to the BFA-Net website using your password, click on “My account”, select “Preferences” and use the drop-down list to indicate whether you want to receive messages immediately or as a daily, weekly or monthly digest.
