Participatory Plant Breeding

The decrease in biodiversity in the agricultures of the North causes a severe threat to food security and is in contrasts with the conservation of biodiversity which is part of the culture of several populations in the South. Participatory plant breeding (PPB), a type of breeding which is done in collaboration with farmers and is based on selection for specific adaptation, increases plant breeding efficiency, which is defined as the ratio between the number of varieties adopted and the number of crosses made, the response to selection, and the benefit/cost ratio. Even though participatory plant breeding has been practiced for only about 20 years and by relatively few groups, the effects on both biodiversity and crop production are impressive.