Increasing stresses on agricultural systems have resulted in an intensification of the use of natural resources for agricultural production. Many have risen concerns on the future of food and nutrition security, especially for smallholder farmers and their communities. The actual seed systems appear not sustainable if we are to feed more than 9 billion people in 2050. For agriculture to be sustainable, new approaches in seed systems ought to transit from conservation towards resilience.
What will you learn?
Upon completion of the course you will:
- Be familiar with contemporary approaches towards crop conservation and sustainable use of plant and genetic resource for food and agriculture (PGRFA) and resilient seed systems;
- Be able to identify opportunities in your local context to integrate resilient seed systems and food security in implementation strategies;
- Learn mechanism and procedure for acquiring (new) planting material;
- Linking ex-situ conservation (seed conserved in a genebank) with on-farm management of PGRFA through a community seed bank, seed fairs, diversity blocks);
- Designing a successful intervention for resilient seed systems and food security;
- Learn about supportive policies and laws boosting seed systems towards resilience.
Course programme in more detail
Bottlenecks in the food supply chain as well as poor access to information and agricultural services are putting agriculture under increasing stress. As a result, smallholder farmers and their communities are facing recurring agricultural crises and food insecurity. One of the responses to deal with the stress has been to intensify the use of natural resources upon which agriculture depends and increase the commercialization of food production. In many parts of the world, this response has led to a reduction of the range of crops and crop varieties cultivated in agricultural systems. To strengthen and (re)build resilience in agriculture through the safeguarding and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity has become a priority.
How to register:
For who is this course?
The training is designed for professionals in public, civil, research, education and/or development organisations, with an interest in agriculture, agrobiodiversity, seeds and food security. Applicants should have at least a BSc degree, have three years of professional experience in a relevant field, and be fluent in English.
To register, please visit the following link.
The Application Procedure
- Register for the course of your interest by clicking the ‘apply’ button on the webpage of this course. A registration form will open;
- Fill in the required fields of the registration form. Please note to write your date of birth without a zero (e.g. 1-5-1980 instead of 01-05-1980);
- Before you submit, check your details on the final page of the registration form;
- After submitting, you will receive a confirmation email. Make sure to directly click on the link in the email to confirm your registration. Without your confirmation, your registration cannot be processed;
- If you apply as an OKP or MSP-scholarship candidate, you will receive a registration letter for the scholarship at the beginning of the scholarship cycle.
- If you apply as a self-funded participant: we will forward your request for acceptance to the course leader. This can take some time as it depends on the coordinators' schedule (1-3 weeks);
- If you’re accepted into the course programme, we’ll send you an admission letter by e-mail;
- You receive all required travel documents from us after you are selected for the scholarship (OKP/MSP-scholarship candidates) or when we’ve received your payment (self-funded participant).
Technology Requirements Online Learning
Minimum technical and software requirements for online learning courses are:
- Stable internet connection: required to access the online learning platform and assignments (at least 3G mobile network).
- Hardware requirement: acces to a laptop, smartphone, tablet or a personal computer with webcam and microphone.