In research projects based on questions which emerge from practice and from interactions with different stakeholders, researchers engage with research partners in a cooperative and interdisciplinary approach. In PhD projects, including a diverse network of partners and interdisciplinarity may be challenged by the short duration of the projects and by the positivist and reductionist approaches in which students are initially trained. Based on a concrete PhD research project on small-scale organic seed production, the objective of this work is to elucidate how interdisciplinarity and an action-base can nevertheless gradually be integrated by PhD students into an approach best termed as involved research. Reflection on the roles of partners, their involvement, motivation and points of view and on the evolution of questions posed during interactions between students and stakeholders contributes to recognizing the role of each partner, situating research postures, and identifying the types of knowledge and transformations produced. While PhD students and their research projects can evolve towards more holistic and constructivist approaches, it is crucial to maintain opportunities for reflection during their research in order to realize the potentials of involving all those involved in the projects and produce effective social learning processes.

In West of France, the association Triptoleme aims to develop farm seeds and cultivated biodiversity for organic agriculture and natural products for environment and human health. Scientists and practitioners of this association have built a participatory research project around wheat (PaysBle) in order to explore diversity at different levels from grain to bread and try to link them.

All organic agricultural systems suffer from a lack of plant cultivars adapted to organic production. Within the framework of the European project SOLIBAM (Strategies for Organic and Low Input Breeding and Management) a study was undertaken to determine which cultivars farmers grow, why they grow them, and the expectations in plant breeding of organic stakeholders.A comprehensive range of investigations carried out between 2010 and 2012 provided information on the state of organic seed in France. Results fit with the hypothesis that the market is a significant factor influencing the choice of seeds and cultivars (local cultivars, landraces, modern cultivars). Expectations and practices of producers selling on a local market (i.e., direct sale) differ radically from those of producers selling to long food supply chains.This study shows that the availability and use of organic seeds have significantly improved over the last three years. A vast majority of organic producers willingly use organic seeds, with, on average, 45-70% (cereals) and 75%-100% (vegetables) of organic seeds being planted on farms. However, the total number of derogations remains quite high: there is still space for improvement in organic seed use and supply in France. Several limiting factors and levers were identified during the study, as well as farmers' expectations for the future on horticultural crops. The case study on tomatoes states the differences between producers selling on a local market and those of producers selling in long food supply chains regarding their practices (open field vs greenhouses) and the kind of cultivar they use or wish to have.

El desarrollo de estrategias de mejora que vinculen la diversidad biológica y los servicios productivos y de regulación de los cultivos es un imperativo cuando se trata de la promoción de una agricultura de bajos-insumos (en la que se incluye la agricultura ecológica). En los sistemas de bajosinsumos, la producción tiene que basarse en los utensilios suministrados por la diversidad dentro y entre cultivos, usar los recursos locales e incluir a las variedades tradicionales, como fuente de genes útiles y de genotipos, para el desarrollo de nuevas variedades o para que las variedades locales evolucionen como nuevas poblaciones. Los sistemas de bajos-insumos requieren una mejora descentralizada y participativa diseñada para incorporar el "know-how" de los agricultores y la perspectiva de los consumidores. Caracteres del cultivo que permitan la reducción de los insumos, como la eficiencia en el uso de la asociación con especies beneficiosas tales como los polinizadores aumentarán en importancia. Este artículo describe aproximaciones de mejora dirigidas a la implementación de una sinergia entre los servicios de producción y de regulación prestados por la agricultura en el contexto de sistemas de bajos-insumos.

Because of the lack of varieties for organic agriculture, associations of organic farmers in several European countries have begun cultivating landraces and historic varieties, effectively practicing in situ conservation of agricultural biodiversity. To promote agrobiodiversity conservation, a special list for “conservation varieties” was implemented in 2008 by the EU because for any exchange and marketing of seeds in the EU, a variety must be registered in an official catalog. Our study aimed at improving knowledge on the phenotypic diversity and evolution of such varieties when cultivated on organic farms in Europe, in order to better define their specific characteristics and the implications for the registration process. We assessed multi-trait phenotypic evolution in eight European landraces and historic varieties of bread wheat and in two pureline variety checks, each grown by eight organic farmers over 2 years and then evaluated in a common garden experiment at an organic research farm. Measurements on each farmer’s version of each variety included several standard evaluation criteria for assessing distinctness, uniformity and stability for variety registration. Significant phenotypic differentiation was found among farmers’ versions of each variety. Some varieties showed considerable variation among versions while others showed fewer phenotypic changes, even in comparison to the two checks. Although farmers’ variety would not satisfy uniformity or stability criteria as defined in the catalog evaluation requirements, each variety remained distinct when assessed using multivariate analysis. The amount of differentiation may be related to the initial genetic diversity within landraces and historic varieties.

One of the objectives of the Farm Seed Opportunities (FSO) project (www.farmseed.net) is to develop on farm breeding methodologies for the conservation and development of landraces, amateur and conservation varieties. The starting point for the development of these methodologies are the already existing experiences of farmers, small scale seed producers and researchers. To be able to draw on the expertise of these practitioners, we have selected five breeding initiatives for in depth case-studies. Prior to the selection of the five cases we carried out an inventory of all known initiatives within the European Economic Area. Results are presented in this article.

Organic and low-input agriculture needs flexible varieties that can buffer environmental stress and adapt to the needs of farmers. We implemented an experiment to investigate the evolutionary capacities of a sample of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) population varieties for a number of phenotypic traits. Three farmers cultivated, selected and multiplied one or several populations over two years on their farms. The third year, the versions of the varieties cultivated and selected by the different farmers were compared to the original seed lots they had been given. After two cycles of cultivation and on-farm mass selection, all the observed varieties showed significant phenotypic changes (differences between the original version and the version cultivated by farmers) for morphological and phenological traits. When the divergence among versions within varieties was studied, the results show that the varieties conserved their identity, except for one variety, which evolved in such a way that it may now be considered two different varieties. The heterogeneity of the population varieties was assessed in comparison with a commercial F1 hybrid used as control, and we found no specific differences in phenotypic diversity between the hybrid and population varieties. The phenotypic changes shown by the population varieties in response to on-farm cultivation and selection could be useful for the development of specific adaptation. These results call into question the current European seed legislation and the requirements of phenotypic stability for conservation varieties.

The myth of technological progress in agriculture and then modern plant breeding have resulted in a separation of farming from breeding activities. Seed laws have also contributed to this outcome (e.g. by imposing strict rules for the entry of varieties in the official catalogue). Nowadays, some pioneers, among them farmers rejecting industrialized agriculture and more often practising organic agriculture, are proposing a different option. In Europe, since the beginning of this century, they have been organizing themselves in networks: the Reseau Semences Paysannes in France, the Red de Semillas in Spain and the Rete Semi Rurali in Italy. Their members are farmers, consumers and scientists working together in order to reconsider the scientific, technical and legal aspects of seed production. These new varieties are designated ‘peasant varieties’, a concept that encompasses two main aspects: the seed, the reproductive part of the plant linked to its terroir, and the variety, shaped by history and coevolved with farmers. Scientists working with these networks are developing participatory plant breeding projects, which aim to broaden agrobiodiversity by creating so called new peasant varieties. The basis of these projects comes from old local varieties and landraces conserved in seed banks. In Europe, the legal framework has evolved since the establishment of ‘conservation varieties’ by directive 98/95. The European research project Farm Seed Opportunities is under way to support new seed policies, in the light also of the different national contexts. The debate in Europe now offers a range of seed systems models. It is time to enlarge this debate to southern countries through the sharing of knowledge between farmers of the North and the South, aiming at conserving agrobiodiversity and promoting rural innovation.

This paper highlights the role conservation varieties in Europe for agricultural diversity conservation and stresses the importance of appropriate laws and policies for the maintenance of vital informal seed systems in Europe.