Meeting the stakeholders in the conservation of plant genetic resources (PGR) in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
In Bourg-Lès-Valence, the Tech&Bio trade fair was an opportunity for Audrey Didier and Charles-Henry Duval to promote the actions of the national coordination on plant genetic resources (PGR) and to get to know some of the local stakeholders of the Drôme and Rhône regions.
A round table organised by SEMAE enabled Audrey Didier to draw up an overview of the stakeholders in the conservation of cultivated plants in France and Europe, and completed the contributions of Frédéric Louot (CFPPA Terre d’Horizon) on the activities of the Archipel des plantes gourmandes and Frédéric Dalmon (Gautier Semences) on the value of conserving plant genetic resources for varietal improvement.
The members of the national coordination then continued their discussions in the field, both at the Tech&Bio trade fair but also by visiting a range of local stakeholders. In Romans-sur-Isère, this was an occasion to discover a number of local varieties such as the cardoon “Le blanc”, the cucumber “Blanc de Tournon” and the bean “Jaune de la Drôme” all collected and characterised by the Archipel des plantes gourmands of the CFPPA Terre d’Horizon. It was also the opportunity to take stock of current projects, in particular the conservation of a walnut collection in collaboration with SENURA, financed by the Ministry of Agriculture support fund.
Then in Charly, a commune located in the south of Lyon, the involvement in the new public-private cooperation networks set up in 2021 was mentioned with the Lyon Metropole for the conservation of onions PGR and the CRBA for the conservation of PGR. The perfect weather provided an opportunity to discover the CRBA’s facilities at the Domaine Melchior Philibert and their work on the conservation and evaluation of resources originating in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes such as the tomato “Monstrueuse de Lyon”, the pepper ‘Piment de Bresse” and the bean “Haricot viande”.
Two full days of rich discussions and a better understanding of the expectations of stakeholders in the conservation of PGR.
