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Access to plant genetic resources for genomic research for the poor: from global policies to target-oriented rules
- Niels P. Louwaars, Eva Thörn, José Esquinas-Alcázar, Shumin Wang, Abebe Demissie, Clive Stannard
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- Journal:
- Plant Genetic Resources / Volume 4 / Issue 1 / April 2006
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 12 February 2007, pp. 54-63
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Applied genetics combined with practical plant breeding is a powerful tool in agricultural development and for food security. The Green Revolution spurred the world's potential to meet its food, feed and fibre needs at a time when vast regions were notoriously food-insecure. Subsequent adaptations of such strategies, from the late 1980s onwards, in order to develop new plant varieties in a more participatory way, have strengthened the focus on applying technology to farmers' diverse needs, feeding research results into a variety of seed systems. During these developments, there were no major legal impediments to the acquisition of either local or formal knowledge or of the building blocks of plant breeding: genetic resources. The emergence of molecular biology in plant science is creating a wealth of opportunities, both to understand better the limitations of crop production and to use a much wider array of genetic diversity in crop improvement. This ‘Gene Revolution’ needs to incorporate the lessons from the Green Revolution in order to reach its target groups. However, the policy environment has changed. Access to technologies is complicated by the spread of private rights (intellectual property rights), and access to genetic resources by new national access laws. Policies on access to genetic resources have changed from the concept of the ‘Heritage of Mankind’ for use for the benefit of all mankind to ‘National Sovereignty’, based on the Convention on Biological Diversity, for negotiated benefit-sharing between a provider and a user. The Generation Challenge Programme intends to use genomic techniques to identify and use characteristics that are of value to the resource-poor, and is looking for ways to promote freedom-to-operate for plant breeding technologies and materials. Biodiversity provides the basis for the effective use of these genomic techniques. National access regulations usually apply to all biodiversity indiscriminately and may cause obstacles or delays in the use of genetic resources in agriculture. Different policies are being developed in different regions. Some emphasize benefit-sharing, and limit access in order to implement this (the ‘African Model Law’), while others, in recognition of countries' interdependence, provide for facilitated access to all genetic resources under the jurisdiction of countries in the region (the Nordic Region). There are good reasons why the use of agricultural biodiversity needs to be regulated differently from industrial uses of biodiversity. The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which entered into force in 2004, provides for facilitated access to agricultural genetic resources, at least for the crops that are included in the Treaty's ‘Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing’. Ratification of the Treaty is proceeding apace, and negotiations have entered a critical stage in the development of practical instruments for its implementation. Although the scope of the Treaty is all plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, there are important crops that are not covered by its Multilateral System. Humanitarian licences are being used to provide access for the poor to protected technologies: countries may need to create such a general humanitarian access regime, to ensure the poor have the access they need to agricultural genetic resources.
14 - A decade of germplasm exploration and collecting activities by the Plant Genetic Resources Centre/Ethiopia
- Edited by J. M. M. Engels, J. G. Hawkes, University of Birmingham, M. Worede
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- Book:
- Plant Genetic Resources of Ethiopia
- Published online:
- 30 October 2009
- Print publication:
- 21 March 1991, pp 202-217
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Summary
Introduction
The richness of Ethiopia's biological resources is well known. It has been mentioned by several scientists that the country exhibits an extraordinary genetic diversity in cereals such as barley (Hordeum vulgare), wheat (Triticum spp.), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and teff (Eragrostis tef), oil crops such as castor bean (Ricinus communis), sesame (Sesamum indicum), and other lesser known but potentially valuable species of plants. Eleven cultivated crop species have been identified as having their centre of diversity in Ethiopia (Zohary, 1970). Vavilov (1951) indicated that some 38 species are connected with Ethiopia as a primary or secondary gene centre.
Owing to the potential and uniqueness of the biological resources of this country, numerous exploration expeditions have been undertaken in the past. The earliest was probably the one made by Schimper in 1840, a year which appears to mark the beginning of botanical collecting in Ethiopia (Gentry, 1971). However, it was after the establishment of the Plant Genetic Resources Centre/Ethiopia (PGRC/E) that systematic collecting was launched on a large scale.
Agents of genetic erosion
The valuable genetic diversity in Ethiopian crop species, as well as in their related wild species, has been built up over the centuries by the natural selective forces of the environment and the farming community.
27 - Pulse crops of Ethiopia: genetic resources and their utilization
- Edited by J. M. M. Engels, J. G. Hawkes, University of Birmingham, M. Worede
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- Book:
- Plant Genetic Resources of Ethiopia
- Published online:
- 30 October 2009
- Print publication:
- 21 March 1991, pp 329-343
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Summary
Introduction
Ethiopia is known as a centre of diversity and/or origin of numerous cultivated crop plant species. This was first recognized by N. I. Vavilov in the late 1920s and later confirmed by several other scientists. Vavilov (1951) indicated that some 38 crop plants have their centre of diversity in the Ethiopian region. Zohary (1970) mentioned 11 crop species which had their centre of diversity in Ethiopia. Primitive cultivars or landraces and wild relatives of some of the world's major crops are found in the country. Pulse crops form a significant portion of the available genetic resource base for plant breeding programmes.
In this chapter an attempt is made to describe the situation for the most important pulse crops cultivated in Ethiopia regarding their diversity and the germplasm kept in the national collection, and their conservation, evaluation and utilization.
Collection
Owing to the richness and potential of the biological resources of the country, numerous plant expeditions have been undertaken by scientists in the past. However, it was only after the establishment of the Plant Genetic Resources Centre/Ethiopia (PGRC/E) in 1976 that systematic collecting missions were launched. The total holding of pulse accessions by PGRC/E is about 4300.
The bulk of the germplasm was acquired from field collecting (ca. 2900) on the basis of a well defined strategy, and some was acquired through repatriation and acquisition from national and international sources.