Participatory Plant Breeding and Smallholder Farmers video – the third in a series of six videos from ACB’s National Seed Dialogue and Celebration

At the National Seed Dialogue and Celebration, hosted by the African Centre for Biodiversity at Constitution Hill in December 2017, this session on Participatory Plant Breeding and Smallholder Farmers looked at issues of smallholder farmers & seed breeding/crop improvement and the potential roles of smallholder farmers in these processes were discussed.

Smallholder farmer involvement in partnerships with formal sector breeders to improve crops and varieties based on their own priorities is still rare in South and Southern Africa. However, the role of smallholder farmers in maintaining agricultural biodiversity is becoming more recognised.

Part of the maintenance and reproduction of agricultural biodiversity is adapting seed to changing ecological conditions. Drought, nutrient limits in the soil and pests and diseases can threaten production if seeds are not adapted.