Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
36 results(2 / 2)
The Second Report on the State of the World's Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
2010Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · FAO, Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture · Global
FAO's comprehensive global assessment of trends in conserving and using plant genetic resources, documenting genetic erosion, genebank accessions, and policy needs for safeguarding crop diversity for food security.
Heirloom & landracePolicyBiodiversityHome gardens: neglected hotspots of agro-biodiversity and cultural diversity
2010Galluzzi G., Eyzaguirre P., Negri V. · Biodiversity and Conservation 19:3635-3654 · Global
Reviews home gardens worldwide as hotspots conserving high inter- and intra-specific genetic diversity, especially traditional crop varieties and landraces, linking agrobiodiversity conservation with cultural diversity and local knowledge.
Heirloom & landraceBiodiversityCommunityGenetic erosion in crops: concept, research results and challenges
2010van de Wouw M., Kik C., van Hintum T., van Treuren R., Visser B. · Plant Genetic Resources 8(1):1-15 · Global
Reviews the concept of genetic erosion in crops at the crop, variety and allele levels, analyzing the loss of diversity through replacement of landraces by modern cultivars and the research challenges involved.
Heirloom & landraceBiodiversityPolicyCelebrity Chef Richard Corrigan visits Letterkenny Community Gardens
2010cdoyle · · Ireland
Celebrity Chef Richard Corrigan visited the Letterkenny Community Gardens in Donegal, Ireland, during the County Enterprise Board’s ‘Enterprise Week’. He emphasized the importance of community involvement in growing healthy food and cultivating native, indigenous varieties.
CommunityFood educationHeirloom & landraceCuban Home Gardens and Their Role in Social–Ecological Resilience
2009Buchmann C. · Human Ecology · Cuba (Trinidad de Cuba)
Using ethnobotanical fieldwork in Trinidad de Cuba, this study shows how home gardens serve as the most adaptable local land resource, with garden composition and management adapting in response to major events such as the Soviet collapse, bolstering household food security and social-ecological resilience.
BiodiversityCommunityHeirloom & landraceWelfare"I brought a hazelnut from Macedonia": Cultural and biological diversity in a globalizing world
2009Pernilla Ouis, Ebba Lisberg Jensen · Malmö University Publications (Malmö University) · Sweden (Malmö)
This article examines the cultural parallelism between biological and cultural diversity as manifested in allotment garden areas in Malmö, Sweden, from a historical perspective. Using empirical data from interviews with allotment gardeners of different ethnic origins across Malmö, it shows how people bring their old plants and exchange varieties and species. This practice is argued to sometimes enhance contact and integration, and other times symbolize difference, contact with the country of origin, or ethnic identity.
BiodiversityCommunityHeirloom & landraceUrban–rural linkageSELECCIÓN PARTICIPATIVA DE VARIEDADES Y EXPERIMENTACIÓN CAMPESINA EN AGRICULTURA URBANA EN EL CULTIVO DEL PLÁTANO (Musa spp.)
2007María de los A Pino, Loracnis Hernández, María E Dominí, Arturo Ocampo Ramírez, Z. Terán, Eduardo Calves · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cuba
This study in San José de las Lajas and Arroyo Naranjo, Cuba, aimed to assess if participatory variety selection and farmer experimentation could introduce, adopt, and disseminate plant biodiversity in urban banana cultivation. Results demonstrated the potential of participatory methodologies to introduce and adopt materials from an agrobiodiversity fair, with selection differences based on criteria and municipal contexts. This provided initial evidence for such urban cultivation experiences.
CommunityBiodiversityHeirloom & landraceDefining and identifying crop landraces
2005Camacho Villa T. C., Maxted N., Scholten M., Ford-Lloyd B. · Plant Genetic Resources 3(3):373-384 · Global
A foundational paper proposing a working definition of a landrace as a dynamic, locally adapted, genetically diverse population with historical origin, lacking formal crop improvement and tied to traditional farming systems.
Heirloom & landraceBiodiversityASPECTOS METODOLÓGICOS A TENER EN CUENTA PARA LA IMPLEMENTACIÓN DEL FITOMEJORAMIENTO PARTICIPATIVO EN AGRICULTURA URBANA
2005María de los A Pino, María E Dominí, A. Ramírez, Loracnis Hernández, Marı́a Rosa Ponce, Eduardo Calves, Z. Terán, Ania Yong, H. Ríos · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cuba
This study demonstrated the feasibility of applying participatory plant breeding as a means for urban farmers to access agricultural diversity, through experimentation with participatory methodologies in an urban context. Local actors from the municipalities of San José de las Lajas and Arroyo Naranjo were also involved, leading to the establishment of a working methodology and an increase in diversity for tomato, bean, plantain, and lettuce crops. Training was also provided on the management of these crops, biofertilizers, and artisanal conservation of this diversity.
CommunityFood educationBiodiversityHeirloom & landraceSeed regulation: choices on the road to reform
1997Tripp R., Louwaars N. · Food Policy · Global
Analyzes how seed laws and regulatory systems shape farmers' freedom over their own seed and informal seed systems, presenting policy choices for reforming seed regulation in developing countries.
Heirloom & landracePolicyEconomicsIn Situ Conservation of Landraces in Centers of Crop Diversity
1995Brush S. B. · Crop Science 35(2):346-354 · Global
A foundational paper presenting three cases of ongoing farmer maintenance of landraces—potatoes in the Peruvian Andes, maize in southern Mexico and wheat in western Turkey—and the rationale for in situ conservation.
Heirloom & landraceBiodiversityPolicy