EFAO Conference 2022

Ecological farmers know that diversity is beneficial — including in the diversity of genetics in our fields. However, modern breeding methods for many crops typically focus on creating very uniform and homogeneous varieties. Some farmers, seed companies, organic breeders, and seed networks are working to counter this trend by consciously breeding for genetic diversity across and within crop types and varieties. Come learn about the benefits of genetic diversity within seed varieties. We’ll benefit from the experience of Joseph Lofthouse, who will join us from a high-altitude, brilliantly-sunlit desert mountain valley in Northern Utah, and Marvin Gomez, an agronomist with the Foundation for Participatory Research with Honduran Farmers (FIPAH), who are working with, and creating new, genetically diversified populations through different strategies to stimulate local adaptation to ecological conditions