Background

In 2021, the international community celebrated the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables. The Secretariat of the International Treaty, in collaboration with the Global Crop Diversity Trust, convened an international panel of high-level experts to highlight the importance of the genetic diversity of fruits and vegetables for food and nutrition security.

Scope of the panel

The panel comprised high-level experts from FAO, other international organizations involved in food and agriculture, governments, private sector and civil society. 

The experts provided a global overview of the status of fruit and vegetable genetic resources, and presented experiences and challenges in the conservation, sharing and use of genetic resources of horticultural crops and fruit trees.

In particular, the experts discussed how genetic resources of fruit and vegetable are currently conserved, shared and used by international genebanks, national programmes, researchers and breeders, the seed sector and non-governmental organizations. The experts also showcased examples of development and production of fruit and vegetable varieties suited to diverse agro-systems and farming practices. The panel identified current challenges associated with the conservation and use of fruit and vegetable genetic resources as well as possible needs and actions for the future.

Please click here to view the full programme.

Please click here for the full recording (Passcode: 5AFG456+)

List of presentations:

• Colin Khoury, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT
  The fruits and vegetables that feed the world: baseline information to underpin strategies for their conservation and use
• Esteban Hernandez Bermejo, Universidad de Cordoba (Spain)
  Underutilized and neglected horticultural and fruit crops
• Roger Leakey, International Tree Foundation
  Domestication of Indigenous Tropical Fruits and Nuts
• Alice Ingabire, Access to Seeds Index
  The Access to Seed Index for Vegetables in Africa and Asia
• Anneke van de Kamp, Group Manager Communication and Public Affairs, Rijk Zwaan
  Protect access to genetic resources for the sake of food security
• Jorge Canhoto, International Society for Horticultural Science
  The role of biotechnology for characterization, conservation and breeding of fruit and vegetable genetic resources
• Tanmay Joshi Sunanda, International Planning Committee, Civil Society
  The Status and Challenges of Conservation, Exchange and Use
• Roberto Ugas, IFOAM, Organics International
  The Status and Challenges of Conservation, Exchange and Use
• Enoch G. Achigan-Dako, University of Abomey-Calavi Cotonou (Benin)
  Progress in the Conservation and Use of African Indigenous Vegetables: Lessons and Prospects
• Rob van Treuren, Centre for Genetic Resources (The Netherlands)
  Collaboration between a Vegetable Genebank and the Private Sector
• Gayle Volk, USDA National Plant Germplasm System (United States of America)
  Conserving and Using Fruit Genetic Resources in the US (with special reference to cryo)
• Renerio P Gentallan, Jr, University of the Philippines Los Baños (The Philippines)
  Conservation of Edible Fruits in the Philippines: Status, Efforts, Gaps and Prospects
• Ramni Jamnadass, World Agroforestry
  Conserving and Using African Fruit Tree Genetic Resources
• William Solano, The Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE)
  Fruit Trees Conserved by CATIE: Conservation and Use
• Lamis Chalak, The Lebanese University (Lebanon)
  Fruit Trees Diversity in Lebanon and the Near East: a Challenged Legacy for Conservation