JAFSCD peer-reviewed article by Edwin Nuijten (Wageningen U), Monika M. Messmer (Research Institute of Organic Agriculture [FiBL]), Pedro Mendes-Moreira (Polytechnic U of Coimbra), Adrián Rodríguez-Burruezo (Polytechnic U of Valencia), Véronique Chable (INRAE, UMR BAGAP), and Edith T. Lammerts van Bueren (Wageningen U of Research)
Organic breeders must meet many requirements when developing cultivars to satisfy demand for high yield, good quality, resource efficiency and climate robustness, cultural and ethical acceptability, and the provision of ecosystem services. Given current and future climatic, agronomic, economic, and sociocultural challenges, resilience can only be achieved efficiently through concerted actions. The concept of systems-based breeding integrates the strengths of different breeding orientations and provides a perspective where breeders can initiate developments toward ecologically and societally resilient crop production that address six sustainability targets.
In a new JAFSCD article, Implementing the systems-based breeding approach: Experiences and lessons learned from the European Union LIVESEED project, authors Edwin Nuijten, Monika M. Messmer, Pedro Mendes-Moreira, Adrián Rodriguez-Burruezo, Véronique Chable, and Edith T. Lammerts van Bueren employed a holistic perspective on social construction that builds on Lammerts van Bueren, who analyzed several challenges to ecological and societal resilience given the current and future climatic, agronomic, economic, and social environments.
Corresponding author Edwin Nuijten can be contacted at edwin.nuijten@wur.nl.
KEY FINDINGS
Based on the workshop results, the researchers identified three supportive pillars:
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Increase social awareness and reflection,
- Develop alternative financing approaches, and
- Develop appropriate breeding methods.
Based on other projects and literature, they identified two additional supportive pillars needed to foster the integration and interlinking of the processes part of the first three supportive pillars.
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Thus, the fourth pillar is to apply integrative interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary learning in education to better anchor the integration of social and natural science thinking in daily practice.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY, PRACTICE AND RESEARCH
The concept of systems-based breeding aims to integrate the strengths of different breeding orientations. providing a perspective where breeders can be initiators of developments toward a sustainable agrifood system based on an ecologically and societally resilient crop production. A future challenge important for diversification is the transition from the focus on short-term market profits toward long-term ecological and societal sustainability.
SHARE ON YOUR SOCIALS
In the dominant breeding approach in Europe, breeding efforts need to be financed through seed sales. For organic agriculture, however, a broad portfolio of crops and varieties is needed to create resilience in the cropping systems that cannot be recovered through seed sales. In a new @JAFSCD article, authors analyze the EU LIVESEED program. Learn more about their research in the full @JAFSCD article for free: https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2025.144.004
#plantbreeding #EU #LIVESEED
Image above: Special JAFSCD section on "Fostering socially and ecologically resilient food and farm systems through research networks," with logos for INFAS, eOrganic, and USDA NIFA.
