Critical experiences in participatory approaches to build up organic plant breeding and seed systems.

Summary

Participatory approaches, involving multi-actors in the plant breeding process, presents challenges and opportunities in advancing and diversifying our crop genetic resources. The current thesis explores the emergence of participatory plant breeding (PPB) in the Global North to improve our understanding of the motivations, methods and outcomes of projects to date across the US, Canada and Europe. PPB is commonly applied in organic systems to improve adaptation to organic environments and address gaps in organic seed availability. Using carrot as a model vegetable crop, the need for separate selection across regions and management was assessed to inform PPB efforts. The collective studies included in this thesis advance the field of PPB by assessing outcomes of PPB experiences including long-term participatory networks and the application of adaptive management in navigating variety release and commercialization of PPB varieties.