50.000 are edible

250 are food crops

90% of the calories in the human diet come from 15 crops and 60% from 3 crops (wheat, rice and maize)

Many different farmers in very many places selected for specific adaptation landraces

With the beginning of Genetics plant breeding was taken away from farmers and started being done by very few people in very few places

Breeding for specific adaptation was replaced by breeding for wide adaptation displacement of landraces

Different Varieties within the same crop

Not all has been conserved

They freeze not only seed but also evolution

Combine appropriate data across stages

Use of pedigree information

They usually have distinct needs and priorities of traits and crops

Have a specific interest in food security (they are usually in charge of preparing the food)

Type of crops (self-pollinated, cross-pollinated, vegetatively propagated)

Type of varieties (pure lines, populations, hybrids, clones)

Type of farmers (rich, poor, large, small, literate, illiterate, men, women, etc.)

Institutional

Institutional

Farmers’ skills and empowerment

Enhancement of biodiversity

to protect the right to food

Include landraces in the variety lists

Support and scale up local seed exchange systems

Develop incentives to the wider use of food products made out of farmers’ varieties

Ensure the active participation of farmers in decisions related to the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources

Increase the resources allocated to public agricultural research