Strengthening agroecology’s future through participatory variety selection.

Most crop trials and breeding programmes in the UK and Ireland are being run by and for petrochemical farming.

The Seed Sovereignty Programme is proud to be running Participatory Variety Selection (PVS) trials with and for agroecological farmers. These PVS trials are designed to help growers cultivate the skillsets and confidence they need to run Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) trials in the future.

Unlike institutionally run variety selection trials and breeding programmes, participatory trials and breeding programmes are a collaborative approach to crop improvement and discovery where growers actively participate as equal partners at every stage of the process.

UK and Ireland-based growers have access to much less seed diversity than they did just a few years ago. Due to Brexit and new legislation and regulations, we have fewer crops to choose from to grow on our farms and allotments, and less genetic material available for plant breeding. With our ever-changing climate, we desperately need more growers breeding their own vegetable crops, which will not only survive but thrive on our agroecological farms for generations to come. Diversity is key to crop resilience, and this diversity starts with an abundance of heterogeneous seed.

Graduates of our Year-Long Training in seed production have access to a number of Continued Learning Opportunities, including the opportunity to participate in these breeding trials. In recent years, growers have taken part in a variety of trials, including blight-resistant tomato breeding in collaboration with renowned tomato breeder Simon Crawford, biennial trials with leek and parsley seeds, and dwarf French bean trials. Participants use the SeedLinked app to record and consolidate the results, as well as build their own experience in tracking and monitoring. With these trials, we hope to develop stable, open-pollinated crop varieties with selected characteristics, such as flavour and disease resistance, while empowering a new generation of seed breeders to emerge.