Community seed banks: concept and practice. Facilitator handbook (updated version)

Over three decades, a number of international and national organizations have provided technical and financial support to community seed banks around the world. Only a few of these organizations have developed and published a practical guide about how they have offered this support. This handbook, first published in 2017, fills the gap and advances research and capacity development regarding community seed banks. The handbook is organized as a guide for facilitators — people who work in the field with farmers and their organizations on issues of seed conservation and sustainable use. The publication Community seed banks: origins, evolution, and prospects edited by Ronnie Vernooy, Pitambar Shrestha, and Bhuwon Sthapit (Vernooy et al. 2015), which offers a global overview of diverse community seed banks around the world, provided the foundation for the content of this handbook. Parts of that publication have been updated and integrated into the handbook. Due to strong demand for printed copies, this updated version, with minor modifications and updated URLs, was prepared for reprint in 2020. We look forward to hearing how it is used, and we count on your feedback to continue improving its content and structure. Contact [email protected] for a printed copy. This handbook has three companion booklets for farmers (Vernooy et al. 2020; How to develop and manage your own community seed bank: Farmers’ handbook (updated versions); see: http://hdl.handle.net/10568/92000; http://hdl.handle.net/10568/92001; and http://hdl.handle.net/10568/92002

Resource box for resilient seed systems: handbook

The resource box for resilient seed systems, developed by a multidisciplinary team of Bioversity International researchers, is a tool that supports research and capacity building on resilient seed systems in the context of adaptation to climate change. The eight modules of the box represent eight steps of a participatory research cycle from situational analysis to knowledge sharing and communication. The handbook complements the online version which can be found at: http://www.seedsresourcebox.org The Resilient Seed Systems Handbook Second Edition, published in 2019, includes a new module on seed production and distribution and incorporates several of more recent useful ideas, examples of good practices and the latest references. See https://hdl.handle.net/10568/73256 Vernooy, R.; Bessette, G.; Otieno, G. (eds.) (2019) Resilient seed systems: handbook. Second edition. Rome (Italy): Bioversity International, 158 p. ISBN: 978-92-9255-138-

Can agricultural citizen science improve seed systems? The contributions of crowdsourcing participatory variety selection through on-farm triadic comparisons of technologies

Using on-farm triadic comparisons of technologies (tricot) for crowdsourcing participatory variety selection is a new citizen–science methodology for agriculture. Developed by Bioversity International as part of a programme known as Seeds for Needs, it allows large numbers of farmers to test different technologies on their farms. Farmers receive packages of seeds with a different combination of three different varieties, randomly selected from a large and diverse set of varieties to be tested. They submit their feedback in simple format, ranking the ‘best / middle / worst’ of each package for different traits. These farmer-generated data are then combined with environmental and socioeconomic data and analyzed with specific, novel statistical methods for ranking. Based on a review of several years of crowdsourcing experience in countries around the world, this report summarizes the different features and contributions of the tricot methodology to improve the functionality of seed systems

Communication pour le développement en Afrique de l'Ouest et du centre : vers un agenda d'intervention et de recherche

Version anglaise disponible dans la Bibliothèque numérique du CRDI: Development communication in West and central Africa : toward a research and intervention agend

Development communication in West and central Africa : toward a research and intervention agenda

French version available in IDRC Digital Library: La communication pour le développement en Afrique de l'Ouest et du centre : vers un agenda d'intervention et de recherch

Implementing access and benefit sharing in eight countries

Since 2012, national teams in eight countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America have been identifying options for policy, legal and administrative mechanisms for the implementation of the multilateral system of access and benefit sharing (MLS) for plant genetic resources. This article summarises if and how access and benefit sharing has been strengthened in the eight countries, and to what extent this has benefited family farmers

Space suit

A pressure suit for high altitude flights, particularly space missions is reported. The suit is designed for astronauts in the Apollo space program and may be worn both inside and outside a space vehicle, as well as on the lunar surface. It comprises an integrated assembly of inner comfort liner, intermediate pressure garment, and outer thermal protective garment with removable helmet, and gloves. The pressure garment comprises an inner convoluted sealing bladder and outer fabric restraint to which are attached a plurality of cable restraint assemblies. It provides versitility in combination with improved sealing and increased mobility for internal pressures suitable for life support in the near vacuum of outer space

Bancos comunitarios de semillas: concepto y practica. Manual para el facilitador

Over three decades, a number of international and national organizations have provided technical and financial support to community seed banks around the world. Only a few of these organizations have developed and published a practical guide about how they have offered this support. This handbook fills the gap and advances research and capacity development regarding community seed banks. The handbook is organized as a guide for facilitators — people who work in the field with farmers and their organizations on issues of seed conservation and sustainable use. The publication Community seed banks: origins, evolution, and prospects edited by Ronnie Vernooy, Pitambar Shrestha, and Bhuwon Sthapit (Vernooy et al. 2015), which offers a global overview of diverse community seed banks around the world, provided the foundation for the content of this handbook. Parts of that publication have been updated and integrated into the handbook

Les Banques de semences communautaires : concept et pratiques. Manuel du facilitateur.

Au cours des trois dernières décennies, un certain nombre d'organisations internationales et nationales ont fourni un soutien technique et financier aux banques de semences communautaires du monde entier. Seules quelques-unes de ces organisations ont élaboré et publié un guide pratique sur la façon dont elles ont offert ce soutien. Pour combler cette lacune, Bioversity Interantional met à disposition ce manuel, qui est basé sur des experiences de ses chercheurs, mais qui prend également en considération ce que d'autres ont accompli pour faire progresser la recherche et le renforcement des capacités concernant les banques de semences communautaires. Le manuel est organisé comme un guide pour les facilitateurs - les personnes qui travaillent sur le terrain avec les agriculteurs et leurs organisations sur les questions de conservation et d'utilisation durable des semences. La publication «Community seed banks: origins, evolution and prospects» dirigée par Ronnie Vernooy, Pitambar Shrestha et Bhuwon Sthapit (Vernooy et al. 2015), qui offre un aperçu global de diverses banques de semences communautaires dans le monde, a servi de base au contenu de ce manuel

Experiments and 3D simulations of flow structures in junctions and their influence on location of flowmeters

International audienceOpen-channel junctions are common occurrences in sewer networks and flow rate measurement often occurs near these singularities. Local flow structures are 3-dimensional, impact on the representativeness of the local flow measurements and thus lead to deviations in the flow rate estimation. The present study aims i) to measure and simulate the flow pattern in a junction flow, ii) to analyze the impact of the junction on the velocity distribution according to the distance from the junction and thus iii) to evaluate the typical error derived from the computation of the flow rate close to the junction