BHUTAN, CAMBODIA, LAOS, VIETNAM AND the PHILIPPINES are all important centers of diversity of staple crops such as rice, maize, barley, wheat, finger millet and sorghum.  Despite this fact, these countries are among the poorest in the world with a large part of their populations suffering from severe food deprivation. Even though these five countries have programs to increase cereals productions, food insecurity persists and farmers, who are the main food producers, are the most affected. Plant genetic resource management plays a vital role for farmers’ empowerment in these countries and is also an important tool for ensuring food security, local seed systems, adaptation to climate change challenges and the enhancement of livelihoods. Through this BSF project, SEARICE aims to strengthen the capacity of smallholder farmers, in particular women and indigenous communities, to manage on-farm diversity of cereals. Furthermore, this SAP envisages supporting the development of comprehensive national strategies for ex situ and in situ conservation of cereals in Asia, and the building of national response frameworks to the climate change challenges from a PGRFA perspective. The project complements existing SEARICE programs to mainstream participatory plant breeding and on-farm conservation of food crops within national research and extension systems. They are envisaged to have the potential to be scaled up across agro-ecological zones and be replicated in other areas, ensuring maximum positive impact and the best use of knowledge and financial resources In Vietnam alone, 83 promising lines of rice have been selected and 33 stable lines released. Farmers produced 63 successful crosses in addition to the 29 crosses from partners’ research institutions, and another 10 crosses from farmers’ seed clubs.