As a major output of the PEDIGREA project (Participatory Enheancement of Diversity of Genetic Resources in Asia) that since 2002 has developed in South-East Asia on funding of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, two complementary books were published by the Centre for Genetic Resources, the Netherlands (CGN) of Wageningen University and Research Centre. The first book is a Field Guide for Participatory Plant Breeding in Farmer Field Schools. It offers very practical suggestions on how to organize a season-long farmer field school on genetic resources management of rice and local vegetables, and on which topics to offer. The second book is entitled Enhancing Farmers' Role in Crop Development and is meant to provide additional conceptual background to trainers and other stakeholders. PEDIGREA works from the assumption that farmers can be very good breeders and that active development of farmers' varieties contributes to the conservation of crop diversity.
Free copies of the books of 136 and 60 pages respectively can be ordered via CGN (woukje.maigret@wur.nl).
Please read more about the project.
The pdfs can be found here.