National genebanks as agents of change for supporting farmers’ crop diversification

Abstract Crop and varietal diversification are essential for African smallholder farmers to adapt to the complex and unprecedented challenges posed by climate change. Although African genebanks maintain seed collections of numerous crops, with thousands of varieties collected from their countries’ farmers, the direct use of these collections by farmers is very limited. Five African national genebanks therefore explored ways to strengthen farmers’ access to and use of these collections through a longer-term collaborative process. The genebanks and their partners engaged with ‘Germplasm User Groups’ as a basis for facilitating sustained joint learning with farmers for use of conserved germplasm. The structure of these groups and the methods they used for identifying and testing germplasm accessions, although differing by country context, all enabled a diversity of farmers to learn about a wide range of germplasm under relevant field conditions. The large number of accessions that farmers selected, their diverse advantages and the requests by numerous farmer groups to continue exploring additional crops and varieties indicated the usefulness of these approaches. These experiences revealed the feasibility and unique roles and opportunities for national genebanks to facilitate farmers’ direct use of the diversity conserved in their crop collections. National genebanks thus have unique responsibilities for adapting their operating procedures and partnering with research and development practitioners to facilitate farmers’ discovery and use of their conserved crop diversity.