Collaborative breeding experiments are moving on! Last week, a seed transfer agreement was signed under the Bioleft system between Criadero Cultivos del Sur, of the Faculty of Agronomy of the University of Buenos Aires, and Granja Guasú, a farm of Baradero, a member of the National Network of Municipalities and communities that promote Agroecology (RENAMA). The seeds that will be sown are Ubuntu, Melilotus albus, and Dar-Max1, Festuca arundinacea. In both cases it is forage, varieties to feed animals.
Through Bioleft, the seeds are authorized to be used for forage production, multiplication, commercialization or new transfer. In all cases, the genetic material will be open for research, development and registration of new plant varieties, without restrictions (Bioleft clause).
Collaborative breeding
Another key element of the transfer is that those who receive the seeds undertake to provide information on their agronomic behavior through the Bioleft digital platform. This enables a participatory testing of the seeds, which helps the breeders to know their performance. Eventually, this open system would test the seeds more broadly and quickly than in private experiments.
This transfer is part of a pilot program developed together with The Conservation, Food & Health Foundation, which comprises three experiments. These will be developed with three teams of producers and breeders, in three different areas of Argentina. The general objective is to test the operation of the Bioleft platform for collaborative breeding. The conclusions will serve to perfect it, at the service of the communities that work for the conservation and multiplication of the seeds.