Hijacking from the Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research web site:
Plant genetic resources and seeds:
policies, conservation and use India,

Date: 31 October – 18 November 2011
Please see this unique training opportunity organized by the Wageningen UR Centre for Development Innovation, and the Center for Genetic Resources, The Netherlands, in collaboration with MSSRF in India and LI-BIRD in Nepal.

The course will focus on community biodiversity management (CBM) and resilience, Participatory learning and action research Multi-stakeholder processes and social learning, conservation strategies, genetic resources and climate change policy frame, and it will be held in November 2011 in India.

Here the detailed brochure on the course focus, objectives, target group and further information:

Training programme Brochure

The first comprehensive review of sesame and its close relative.
Sesame: the genus Sesamum covers ethnographic data, modern use, linguistic analysis of sesame names from around the world, market size, export and import data, geographical sources, use in the food and cosmetic industries, and much more. The book includes a historical review of the genus Sesamum that reveals its place in present-day traditions and cultivation in Africa and Asia.
Expanding coverage from archaeological and anthropological literature from India, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, this ethobotanical monograph draws on folk sources, reviews the phytochemistry of Sesamum, and presents extensive references.

Here the link to the publication “Sesame: The genus Sesamum” (2010) and more about the author can be found here:

Dorothea Bedigian’s publications on Sesame and from the db on projects: Open SESAME (Sustainability and Ecology of Sesamum in Africa and the Middle East)

A special orchard, containing rare species of fruit trees, is being planted in Worcestershire. England. The 2 ha orchard is being planted with around 170 trees of different traditional varieties of fruit that were grown in the Wyre Forest.

It is hoped that the “gene bank” orchard will ensure the survival of rare fruit trees for future generations. …

Read from BBC web site about this clicking here

This news item comes from a post on FAO’s NWFP (Non Wood Forest Products) -Digest

I recall about the Association Archeologia Arborea that is doing similar work

This is a contribution to saving threatened varieties that provide precious germplasm, tastes not to be lost, provide important contributions to biodiversity and much more.

Let us know about other good stories like this one you are aware about.

We herewith invite you to participate in global consultations on Farmers’ Rights as these are addressed in Article 9 of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (also called the Plant Treaty; see www.planttreaty.org). The background for these consultations is a decision made by the Governing Body of the Plant Treaty at its third session (Resolution 6/2009). Here the Governing Body recalls the importance of fully implementing Farmers’ Rights, and, among other things, requests the Secretariat to convene regional workshops on Farmers’ Rights to discuss relevant national experiences. The Fridtjof Nansen Institute (www.fni.no) in Norway is assisting the Secretariat in carrying out this task. Funding is limited, so we begin by carrying out consultations via e-mail, in order to involve as many stakeholders as possible, in all parts of the world. The e-mail consultations have been made possible thanks to support from SwedBio of Sweden and the Development Fund, Norway. We are still trying to raise the funds necessary to hold a consultation conference towards the end of the year, which will then be global, with regional components. The results of the global consultation process will be presented to the Governing Body of the Plant Treaty at its Fourth Session in 2011, as a basis for its deliberations on promoting the realization of Farmers’ Rights at the national level.

The following questionnaire is designed to obtain information in the context of Resolution 6/2009 of the Governing Body and to facilitate discussions at the consultation conference. The Secretariat will follow this process and provide information to Contracting Parties accordingly.

Please distribute this questionnaire to organizations and individuals engaged in plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and farmers’ rights – in your own country and abroad. We would also be grateful if all those who are working with farmers take this opportunity to distribute the questionnaire among them, or to convene group consultations among farmers to complete the questionnaire collectively, if appropriate, and send it to us.

We sincerely hope that you will take the time to complete this questionnaire to the best of your capacity, and return it to us.

The final deadline for submission of this questionnaire is 31 August 2010.
Please e-mail the questionnaire to email hidden; JavaScript is required or as fax to (+47) 67 11 19 10.

We will publish the results of this e-mail based part of the consultation by the beginning of November 2010 in the form of a report, with the responses presented region-wise. For more information please visit the website of the Farmers’ Rights Project of the Fridtjof Nansen Institute at (www.farmersrights.org) or contact Tone Winge (email hidden; JavaScript is required).

Oslo, Norway 6 July 2010
Sincerely yours,
(sign.)
Regine Andersen,
Senior Research Fellow and
Director of the Farmers’ Rights Project
Fridtjof Nansen Institute

THE QUESTIONNAIRE
English: http://dgroups.org/?56n6yhjx
French:  http://dgroups.org/?fmcgl3nf
Spanish: http://dgroups.org/?tm9assp9

ABOUT THE TREATY AND THE CONSULTATION
English: http://www.farmersrights.org/about/fr_in_itpgrfa_7.html
French: http://www.farmersrights.org/FR/concernant_traite4.html
Spanish: http://www.farmersrights.org/ES/acerca_tratado4.html

From Nico Rozemeijer, Senior advisor Collaborative Natural Resources Management and Rural Development, Centre for Development Innovation, Wageningen UR:

I would like to draw your attention to the upcoming short course on Adaptive Management in Ghana from 18 October – 5 November 2010. It seems far away but the deadline for applying for fellowships is June the first, and responding early never hurts… [Please find the course announcement with further information here] Contact Nico at email hidden; JavaScript is required.