INTERNATIONAL EXPERT PANEL
FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GENETIC DIVERSITY: THE STATUS AND CHALLENGES OF CONSERVATION, EXCHANGE AND USE
In 2021, the international community celebrates 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.
The panel was held on Zoom on 16 February. Simultaneous interpretation in French, English, Arabic and Spanish was available.
The international panel:
- Presents 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;
- Showcases examples of development and production of fruit and vegetable varieties suited to diverse agro-systems and farming practices;
- Discusses current challenges associated with the conservation and use of fruit and vegetable genetic resources, and identifies future needs and actions.
The programme of the event with speakers and links to all presentations delivered, is available here .
The full recording of the event is available here (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
Other panels:
The Secretariat of the International Treaty and the Global Crop Diversity Trust have joined forces to organize a series of international online panels to bring together key actors of the conservation and use of plant genetic resources. The first international panel in September 2020 reflected on the impacts of the COVID-pandemic on plant genetic resources programmes (please click here for the full recording). A third panel will take place in the second quarter of 2021 on cryo-conservation, a method with a significant potential to ensure the long-term, sustainable conservation of fruit trees and other important food crops.
For any question, please contact: [email protected]