FAO has recently published Plant breeding and farmer participation, prepared in collaboration with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). Edited by S. Ceccarelli, E.P. Guimaraes and E. Weltizien, the 671-page book is organized in 25 chapters, written by three groups of scientists: internationally recognized experts in genetics related to plant breeding and in the various aspects of plant breeding; professional breeders who have actually practised participatory plant breeding (PPB) with a number of different crops and in a number of socially and climatically different areas, using the range of methods presented by the first group; and scientists with specific expertise in areas not usually covered in classical plant breeding books, such as variety release mechanisms, seed diffusion, institutional issues associated with PPB, and intellectual property rights. See http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/i1070e/i1070e00.htm or contact [email protected] to request a copy, providing your full postal address.

07/04/2011