In partnership with INRA, professionals from the organic vegetable sector in Brittany conducted a breeding programme for organically-farmed cabbage based on an evaluation programme of genetic resources collected from French (INRA) and European gene banks at the PAIS (Agro-biological platform of the Interprofessional Association for Organic Farming in Brittany), located in Suscinio. Between 2001 and 2003, the evaluation focused on quality criteria for commercial products and the suitability of varieties to the organic market, as well as on their adaptation to the environment. About 400 populations of cauliflower have thus been evaluated at the PAIS and/or by professionals in the sector in Brittany in order to evaluate their adaptation to organic production under different soil conditions and their suitability to various marketing channels. Ten of them were selected. Focused at first on cabbage, the programme was extended at the request of professionals and led to the breeding of several other species (tomato, carrot, lettuce, spinach, etc.). Breeding programs must now be optimized in order to satisfy consumer quality and adaptability requirements, and to design a coherent regulatory framework for participatory plant breeding and organic farming
