The conservation and sustainable use of crop biodiversity are increasingly recognized as central to resilient food systems, climate adaptation, and long-term agricultural innovation. Achieving these goals requires integrated approaches that support and (re-)design seed systems to provision diversity, strengthen farmer seed systems, bridge in situ and ex situ conservation, connect local and global actors, and combine institutional, ecological, and technological perspectives.
Seed systems play a pivotal role in crop genetic conservation and ongoing evolutionary processes. They mediate gene flow between wild and cultivated populations, enable the spatial and temporal reproduction of landraces, support a range of restoration actions (repatriation, rematriation, community seed banks, seed savers networks, etc.), and provide the foundation for downstream applications such as plant breeding and value-chain development. While public conservation mechanisms—most notably national and international genebanks—remain central, they coexist with a rich diversity of community-based and farmer-led initiatives. Together, these form a complex institutional and socioecological landscape characterized by multiple stakeholders operating under distinct governance regimes yet pursuing interconnected and often interdependent objectives.
Seed system components – ranging from sources and genetic resources, (re)production and multiplication, quality assurance, distribution and exchange to access and use – are critical determinants of conservation effectiveness. At the same time, advances in genetic and genomic tools, long-term seed storage technologies, participatory monitoring approaches, and citizen science are transforming how crop diversity is assessed, documented, and managed across scales. These processes are further shaped by social norms, power relations, and governance arrangements, as well as by political and regulatory frameworks governing seed ownership, access rights, certification, and benefit-sharing, which together influence whose knowledge is recognized, which seed systems are supported, and how conservation outcomes are distributed.
This course critically examines the performance and interplay of conservation frameworks, institutions, and stakeholders, with a focus on the opportunities and tensions inherent in integrated approaches and seed systems that support crop conservation. Participants explore key dimensions of seed systems relevant to the management of crop genetic diversity, alongside state-of-the-art, multilevel tools for diversity assessment and monitoring. Through lectures, case analyses, and guided discussions, the course offers a rigorous overview of contemporary scholarship on seed systems, crop conservation, and genetic diversity governance.
Key Topics
- Integrated conservation and seed system design, linking in situ, ex situ, and community-based approaches across scales
- Seed systems from seed sourcing, reproduction, quality assurance, storage, distribution, access, and use
- Seed systems as socioecological and institutional arrangements, involving public, farmer-led, and community-based actors.
- Genetic, genomic, and phenotypic methods for diversity assessment and monitoring, including participatory and multilevel approaches
- Governance, power relations, and regulatory frameworks, including seed law, certification, and access and benefit-sharing
- Science–policy–practice interfaces and innovation pathways, connecting conservation, breeding, restoration, and value chains
Course objectives
By the end of the course, students and practitioners will be able to:
- Critically analyze seed systems as integrated socioecological systems, linking crop genetic diversity, evolutionary processes, and conservation outcomes across scales.
- Evaluate and compare in situ, ex situ, and integrated conservation strategies, and assess their implications for adaptive evolution, resilience, and long-term agricultural innovation.
- Apply and interpret genetic, genomic, phenotypic, and/or participatory tools for the assessment, monitoring, and management of crop diversity in research and practice.
- Examine institutional arrangements, governance structures, and power relations shaping seed systems, including legal and regulatory frameworks for seed quality, access, and benefit-sharing.
- Integrate interdisciplinary approaches to inform policy, program design, and research agendas, strengthening science–policy–practice interfaces in seed system governance.
Co-organizers and Contributors
- Wageningen University & Research (WUR)
- Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
- Oxfam Novib
- CGIAR: International Potato Center (CIP), the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Multifunctional Landscapes and Genebank Programs
- CIRAD
- Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies
Registration of interest: You can register your interest HERE (note: this is not an official registration).
