What was the challenge/problem addressed?

The evolution of the primary sector and of society led to a global selection and marketing of seeds by large specialised companies, as well as the massive use of seeds of high productive value and specialisation in production. In this way, a system based on almost total self-sufficiency was left behind, in which most food for human and livestock consumption was produced in the nearby, or even at home. This brought with it positive effects, such as increased agricultural production capable of feeding a larger population. But also a negative effect, the loss of varietal and genetic diversity within these crops.

However, there have been growers who have managed to keep the old seeds alive in their villages and gardens. Thanks to their perseverance and love of a family tradition handed down from their parents and grandparents, it may be possible in the future to feed future generations with these more resilient seeds.

The agricultural problems caused by global warming and climate change, among other reasons, have recently led experts to turn their attention to these ancient seeds, well adapted to their particular environments, which have proven their resistance to disease and adverse weather conditions for generations.

In recent years, several projects have been undertaken in Navarre aimed at recovering and saving biotypes, seeds and ancient varieties of different crops. Specifically, LIFE-IP NAdapta-CC project is working to collect traditional vegetable varieties with the aim of highlighting the great resilience of local varieties, thanks to the cultivation, selection and conservation work carried out by many different people over generations, in accordance with their knowledge and traditions.

How did you solve the problem?

  1. Locating and collecting seeds. Locate and collect a sample of seeds of those varieties which, for a variety of reasons, have been conserved for years at local and family level but which are no longer used in conventional agriculture. Many of these varieties are at risk of disappearing. Initially, all INTIA staff and the technical staff of the Department of Rural Development and the Environment of the Government of Navarre were informed of this action, and the active collaboration of anyone who might know people who conserve and use these ancient local seeds in their horticultural work was requested.
  2. Gather information. Gather information that the seed guardians considered relevant.
  3. Seed propagation and conservation at the Germplasm Bank

Reproduce the collected seeds to obtain the quantity required by the Germplasm Bank to ensure their conservation and survival.

  1. Guide of local varieties in Navarre. To produce a guide that compiles the work carried out so far, where the peculiarities of these ancient seeds and their production areas are described. This guide is open to local varieties that might be collected in the future.

What is innovative in your practical case?

The Guide of Local Horticultural Varieties, a catalogue of 61 traditional crops described in Spanish and Basque. The aim is to continue including the new seeds that will be compiled and characterised, as this work is still in progress.

The guide summarises not only the agronomic data but also the peculiarities and customs associated with the uses of these specific seeds and crops. This adds an important cultural and historical heritage conservation value to this compilation work as a whole.

What are the success factors in solving the problem?

  • The funding of costs by the LIFE-IP NAdapta-CC project.
  • The enthusiastic response of people in providing the information and contacts of the keepers which continue cultivating and selecting local seeds. This has so far made possible to compile different crops such as tomatoes, maize, beans, etc.
  • The collaboration of the seeds keepers. It also made possible to remember and recover not only the seeds, but also part of our recent past.
  • The availability of INTIA’s experimental farms for reproducing those batches of seeds in which the quantity was lower than the one required by the germplasm bank. When the necessary distance to avoid pollination among different varieties has been difficult to keep at the experimental farms, INTIA has counted with the collaboration of growers who, under the supervision of INTIA, have carried out this multiplication in a remarkable way.

 

Lessons learned

The large amount of varied plant material that is still maintained in many orchards of our geography, and the interest in continuing to recover it, has been noted.

The work of recovery, reproduction and conservation is vital to avoid irreparable losses. The vast majority of the keepers of the old seeds, with a few exceptions, are now over 50 years old and live scattered in rural areas, mostly in small mountain villages. They have handed over a sample of the seeds they keep in the hope that they will not be lost forever and that in the future they will once again be appreciated by society, not only for the cultural value but also for the high culinary value.

The recovery of all these local and ancient varieties goes hand in hand with the conservation of cultural, gastronomic and lifestyle values that are also in danger of disappearing. In the last 50 years there has been an important cultural change in the rural world and this change has been confirmed by the conversations of INTIA’s technical staff with seed keepers, who have not only saved plant material of great value for the future but also the memory of a rural world that is being lost. For all of these reasons, the guide has been organised according to a geographical criterion that helps to facilitate the understanding of the importance of some crops and the uses that were made of them in each place. The sheets of the guide have been grouped into six geographical areas that bring together localities that share similarities in terms of climate, landscape and agricultural uses.

The current context of climate change means that maintaining the genetic characteristics of these plants could be an important asset in the future.

What role does the advisor or advisory service play with the practical case?

INTIA was aware of the difficulty of locating the seed maintainers and that the main way will be through personal knowledge. That is why the work of collecting seeds has been carried out village by village, orchard by orchard, using the oldest social network, which is “word of mouth” and the home visit of a technical person.

Initially, all INTIA staff and the technical staff of the regional goverment were informed of this action, and active collaboration was requested from anyone who might know of people who conserve and use these ancient local seeds. The response was enthusiastic.

Likewise, INTIA has asked and continues asking for support in locating old seeds e.g. from young people who are joining the agricultural activity, as many of them are the children, grandchildren or relatives of farmers. Similarly, collaboration has been requested from the students at University of Navarra, and in all those events in which the valorisation of vegetable varieties has been the subject of reflection.

INTIA’s advisors collected the information considered relevant by the seed keepers and prepared the guide including all the work carried out and which is available to the public and has been widely disseminated.

Can your approach be transferred and/or adapted for other innovation challenges and regions?

Yes

Estimated transferability on a scale from 1 to 5

(where 1 is easy and 5 very difficult)

3

 

For sharing the experience on the good practice, please contact

Ana Pilar Armesto

aarmesto@intiasa.es

Link to external information

https://lifenadapta.navarra.es/en/web/lifenadapta/home?p_p_id=com_liferay_asset_publisher_web_portlet_AssetPublisherPortlet_INSTANCE_6fURx2GCMmHF&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=maximized&p_p_mode=view&ida=5529133

https://www.navarraagraria.com/component/k2/it