European Seed Research – request for information

From Dave Aplin:

I am carrying out some work for the European Native Seed Conservation Network (ENSCONET), specifically researching the future research requirements in Europe (and elsewhere) for well-documented samples of wild-collected, native European seed. We are keen to identify research that could be encouraged or enhanced by access to such high-quality seed samples.
 
Furthermore, (a) would this research need material collected from across the continent or just from specific regions, (b) what data (other than standard date, location, general ecology and sampling) would need to be recorded, and (c) what quantities of seed would be required? 
 
In the past, collection of native seeds in Europe by seed banks in botanic gardens and universities has been carried out primarily with conservation in mind. Consequently, researchers have had to make do with the material on offer rather than that tailored to their needs. We would like to turn this around and develop a dialogue with both state and private research to explore needs and thereby create opportunities for research that might otherwise be expensive or impossible to carry out.
 
I look forward to hearing from you,
Dr. Dave Aplin
ENSCONET

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Acacia Gum – Innovative Management of Acacia Senegal Trees

The ACACIAGUM project provides a unique north-south collaboration where relevant expertise and resources are being availed for addressing problems of food security and livelihood faced by developing countries. The European and African partners in a more or less balanced way are sharing the various work packages and tasks. There is thus a strong complementarity between research teams from the two regions resulting in high quality multi-disciplinary research approach.

• Various innovative approaches are going to be implemented:
• Innovative approaches to the study of water-use and photosynthate allocation within trees are particularly apt for this study of an exsudate-producing crop. Physiological measurement systems of tree water (stem sap flow, leaf gas exchange, soil water content) will be conducted in relation to gum production;
• Tree management (shoot and root) for optimization of gum-arabic production in relation to soil microbial populations present in the rhizospheric area in differing environmental conditions will form an important topic for improvement of the financial profits of the populations concerned in gum-arabic production.
• The innovative linking of genetics with quality attributes of verified A. senegal trees will yield a tool to ensure that future tree plantings produce high quality gum.
• An innovative and novel, certified marketing system that provides equitable returns to producers and rural populations and assures importers of the source, bio safety, hygiene and quality of the product will be developed and proposed to policy makers and commerce.
• The relationship between soil fertility and sustainable gum-arabic production will be developed and quantified with the final objective to produce gum arabic with a green label.
• The topic of dissemination of results and information has been granted particular importance and a work package has been dedicated to dissemination issues to try to maximize impact amongst end users. Dissemination plans will be developed for different audiences: to Government Departments in DC’s countries involved in the study to national and international agencies involved in natural resource management, NGOs, all actors in the production/marketing chain from local populations through farmers, and the scientific community.

Visit the projects website: inco-acaciagum.cirad.fr

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The Chicago Initiative on Global Agricultural Development

The Global Agricultural Development Project aims to stimulate and inform the policy discussion around America’s role in alleviating poverty through global agricultural development. The project also seeks to identify opportunities for the United States to work with governments and other institutions to increase productivity, market access, and incomes of rural smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

www.thechicagocouncil.org/globalagdevelopment/default.asp

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