Biodiversity: Key to helping farmers adapt to climate changeCarlo Fadda, Gloria Otieno, Stephan Weise Bioversity InternationalFAO Symposium on Biotechnology, Rome,17 February 2016

• Is a rapid approach to identify crop varieties

adapted to changing climates and markets• Uses existing diversity, including landraces• Can be customized to local and marginal

conditions around the world• Directly responds to farmers’ needs• Captures new allelic diversity of locally

adapted varieties

Seeds for Needs

The Genetic Diversity of Durum Wheat in Ethiopia

Ethiopian unique genetic diversity

Landraces performance compared with the best improved variety

P<0.001 between improved material and landraces, sites, and interactions varieties by sites

• Many landraces mature earlier than improved varieties• 15-31% of the landraces have higher biomass• 7-24% of landraces are superior in grain yield to best improved variety• Best landrace yielded 60% more than the best improved variety

Trait

Best Improved

Material (IM)

Best Land- race (LR)

No. LR > Best IM

Hagre Selam

No. LR > Best IM

GeregeraDays to maturity* 116.6 109.3 57 71Biomass yield* (t/ha) 7.17 9.99 97 47Grain yield* (t/ha) 2.17 3.49 68 22

Crop Improvement – Mapping the Genome

Mengistu et al 2016

Participatory evaluation

• 30 farmers for each of the two locations (15 male + 15 female)

• Individual score on 5 traits for 800 plots (400 varieties in 2 reps)

• > 200,000 data points

• Selection of 20 varieties for crowd sourcing trials

3. Farmers test and report back by mobile phone

2. Each farmer gets a different combination of varieties

3. Environmental data (GPS, sensors) to assess adaptation

1. A broad set of varieties is evaluated

4. Data are used to detect demand for new varieties and traits

4. Farmers receive tailored variety recommendations and can order seeds

The process

Info sheets for each participant

Analytical report for researchers

Field data collection (Android app)

Randomization of varieties

Digital Platform (2016)

Strengthening Seed Systems

Institutional genebanks

(National, private, experimental stations, universities…)

Community Seedbanks

CGIAR genebanks

International Genebanks

Regional genebanks

Seed cooperatives

Seeds for Needs worldwide

Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador,

Honduras, Guatemala,

Nicaragua : beans

Ethiopia: barley, wheatKenya,

Tanzania: cowpea, pigeon pea, sorghum

Rwanda ,Uganda: beans

Cambodia: rice, sweet potato

India: rice, wheatLaos: cucumber, long bean, rice, sweet corn,

watermelonPapua New Guinea:

sweet potato, taro

India15 000+

Ethiopia2000+

Costa Rica1 000+

Conclusions

• Farmers rapidly benefit from tailored, self-selected crops and varieties to address resilience, nutrition and productivity

• Framework allows for the identification of traits that are of particular interest for farmers and scientists (biotic and abiotic stress, quality)

• New business model:traditional knowledge – landraces – formal/informal seed systems –ITC – breeding – policy

• Approach institutionally embedded in research, extension services and agro-dealer networks

www.bioversityinternational.org

Thank you

This work is done within the framework of the Climate Change Agriculture and Food security

CGIAR Program and in partnership with:

Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy;

Dep. of Dryland Crop and Horticultural Sciences, Mekelle University, Ethiopia;

Sirinka Agricultural Research Center, Sirinka, Ethiopia;

Amhara Regional Agricultural Research Institute, Ethiopia;

Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute, Ethiopia; Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy