WISARD: A public domain platform for information sharing on sustainable agriculture and rural development. Wisard is a web-based platform to share information on Organisations, Projects, Experts and Outputs/Documents in sustainable agriculture and rural development. It addresses the question 'who is doing what where and what are the results?. It is a decentralised system that anyone can use to easily publish information and in which focal points at organisation, network or national level take responsibility for data quality control. It offers a set of common tools for sharing such as classification and automatic language translation. Information can be linked to internal financial and CRM packages. WISARD is a major resource that contains information on over 15,000 organisations, experts and projects accessible to a large user community of NGOs, national councils, CGIAR-centres, networks such IPM-Europe, FAO Global IPPM, PROFORIS the Rice Wheat Consortium and donors.

UK Agricultural Biodiversity Coalition (UKabc) is an activity of the UK Food Group, bringing together Public Interest UK organisations concerned with Sustainable Use, Conservation, Benefit Sharing, Trade, Patents, Intellectual Property, Biopiracy, Biotechnology, Genetic Engineering, Biosafety and other issues related to the Equitable Use of Agricultural Biodiversity for Local Food and Livelihood Security.

SRISTI is a non-governmental organisation setup to strengthen the creativity of grassroots inventors, innovators and ecopreneurs engaged in conserving biodiversity and developing eco-friendly solutions to local problems. Here, on the web site of SRISTI, you can read about its activities and participate in them, download its newsletter and research papers and much more.

Programa de Fitomejoramiento Participativo en Mesoamerica (Mesoamerican Participatory Plant Breeding Program). El Programa de Fitomejoramiento Participativo en Mesoamerica es un proyecto tipo "paraguas" ya que se pretende realizar simultáneamente en Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, México y Nicaragua con 7 proyectos nacionales. Se busca dotar de materiales mejorados a los grupos campesinos de la región mesoamericana que viven en condiciones de pobreza, sin acceso a sistemas tradicionales de crédito y que en forma periódica están siendo fuertemente afectado por sequías e inundaciones, los cuales limitan sus escasas opciones de desarrollo y sobrevivencia.

David P. Coady and Susan W. Parker, Program Participation under Means-Testing and Self-Selection Targeting Methods IFPRI, April 2005AbstractUsing data that enables us to distinguish between the different components of programparticipation (i.e., knowledge, application, and acceptance), we investigate the determinants of household behavior and program implementation in a social safety-net program that combines administrative and self-selection targeting methods. High undercoverage of eligible households primarily reflects lack of knowledge and binding budget constraints in poor areas. High leakage to ineligible households reflects the combination of their high levels of knowledge, application, and acceptance. Lowering undercoverage will require greater program awareness among the poor living in nonpoor areas and this is likely to come at the expense of substantial leakage to the nonpoor unless improvements are made to the verification process. Our results also suggest that in the presence of a budget constraint, the administrative selection process gives priority to the poorest households and those with children.

Participatory Plant Breeding and Selection at Cornell University. This project aims to provide improved varieties, demonstrate the value of participatory plant breeding methods and grower-based selection and lay the groundwork for more breeding in and for organic systems. Funding is sought to develop projects focused on breeding for traits that are important to organic growers.

McDonald, B (ACDI), Gross. R (GTZ) y Haddad. L (IFPRI), United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition and the International Food Policy Research Institute, 48 pages / 2002.The international nutrition community has made great advances in understanding the root causes, effects and magnitude of global malnutrition and human suffering. However much work remains. Members of the international nutrition community recognize the need to better integrate their work with the work of its partners in development. Nutrition: A Foundation For Development is a collection of briefs on the latest research findings in nutrition as they relate to other development sectors. The briefs are designed to facilitate dialogue between nutritionists and other development professionals. They are organized both as a complete set or as stand-alone briefs that make the case for integrating nutrition into the work of the development community.

McDonald, B (ACDI), Gross. R (GTZ) y Haddad. L (IFPRI), del sistema de las Naciones Unidas (SCN) y el Instituto Internacional de Investigación sobre Políticas Alimentarias (IFPRI) 48 pages / 2002-.ste conjunto de resúmenes es el resultado del trabajo de varias personas y refleja la colaboración internacional promovida dentro del SCN. Los resúmenes están diseñados para facilitar el diálogo entre los profesionales de la nutrición y del desarrollo. Están organizados de tal manera que puedan tomarse como un paquete de información completo, o como documentos individuales que presentan el argumento a favor de integrar la nutrición dentro del trabajo de la comunidad del desarrollo.

IPRsonline.org is an internet portal on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and Sustainable Development. It contains a selection of relevant online documents and resources related to IPRs and sustainable development including a guide to IPRs, proposals submitted to the WTO, discussion papers classified by topics, a calendar of IPRs related events, latest news on IPRs, and links to listservs and relevant institutions working on IPRs.

In Focus: Seeds that give: Participatory Plant BreedingToday’s agriculture is like a huge inverted pyramid. Globally, it rests on a precariously narrow base. Less than 3% of the 250 000 plant varieties available to agriculture are in use today. The top-down system of agricultural research, where farmers are seen merely as recipients of research rather than as participants in it, has contributed to this dependence on a relatively few plant varieties. This trend and the increasing industrialization of agriculture are key factors in what can only be called “genetic erosion.” A new approach to agricultural research and development is needed to conserve agricultural diversity, improve crops, and produce food of quality for all.

Ceccarelli, S., Grando, S. and R.H. Booth, 1996. International breeding programmes and resource-poor farmers: Crop improvement in difficult environments. In: Eyzaguirre, P. and M. Iwanaga, (Eds.) Participatory Plant Breeding. Proceedings of a workshop on participatory plant breeding. 26-29 July 1995, Wageningen, The Netherlands. IPGRI, Italy pp. 99-116.Farmers in stressful environments have benefitted little from the spectacular yield increases obtained by formal (or institutional) breeding programs based in environments which are naturally favorable or can be profitably made favorable by using inputs. Interactions between genotype and environment (GxE) are one of the main reasons for the failure of formal breeding to serve small, resource-poor farmers. Formal breeding has frequently adopted a negative interpretation of GxE interactions by selecting for broad adaptation and replacing locally adapted landraces with input responsive cultivars ill adapted to low input and stress conditions. By contrast, a positive interpretation of GxE interactions implies the exploitation of specific adaptation by direct selection in the target environment. To exploit specific adaptation international breeding programs need to decentralize breeding activities and encourage national programs to use their locally adapted germplasm. A second vital step is to obtain farmers\' participation in selection so as to take full advantage of their indigenous and specialized knowledge of the crop and the environment.

Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species. Underutilized species contribute increasingly to food security and poverty alleviation of the rural and urban poor. Purpose of the web-portal The Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species offers this website as a tool to enhance and ease communication and knowledge exchange amongst experts and organization working on underutilized species as well as groups or individuals in need of information on the topic.

Genetic Resources Action International (GRAIN) is an international non-governmental organisation which promotes the sustainable management and use of agricultural biodiversity based on people's control over genetic resources and local knowledge.

Fusion of Horizons is an exhibition by Mohan Dhamotharan and Thomas Becker of the University of Hohenheim. They offer a downloadable collection of posters about communication skills for participatory research.

European Consortium for Organic Plant BreedingThe European Consortium for Organic plant breeding provides a platform for discussion and exchange of knowledge and experiences., pursues the initiation, support of organic plant breeding programmes, and develops scientific concepts of organic plant breeding the provision of independent, competent expertise to develop standard setting with respect to organic plant breedin.

The Earth Negotiations Bulletin is a balanced, timely and independent reporting service that provides daily information in print and electronic formats from multilateral negotiations on environment and development. It is published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). The Bulletin is a one-page, two-sided "desktop" publication that is distributed daily to participants at UN negotiations related to environment and development. In addition to the hard-copy version, the Earth Negotiations Bulletin is available in electronic format on IISD’s “Linkages” web site on the Internet and by electronic mail. At the conclusion of each meeting, the Earth Negotiations Bulletin Team writes and edits a 10-18,000-word summary and analysis of the meeting, which is circulated in electronic format. This has enabled it to reach a wide range of people interested in environment and development negotiations. An important source of information for updates on the Convention for Biological Diversity.

La Corporación PBA es una organización sin ánimo de lucro, que trabaja con recursos de cooperación internacional y contrapartidas nacionales, en procesos de innovación con pequeños agricultores.El objetivo, o lo que une a los miembros de la Corporación, es el deseo de contribuir al mejoramiento del nivel y de la calidad de vida de los pequeños agricultores colombianos, a través del fomento de procesos de innovación tendientes a lograr el desarrollo sostenible de las comunidades rurales. De esta manera, la Corporación PBA aspira a poner un grano de arena en la consecución del progreso, el desarrollo, la equidad, la convivencia y la paz en Colombia.

CIP-UPWARD. 2003. Conservation and Sustainable Use of Agricultural Biodiversity. Published in collaboration with GTZ, IDRC, IPGRI and SEARICE.The appreciation for agricultural biodiversity has grown and matured, resulting in an increasing awareness that its valuation and use could contribute to long-term conservation and use. This sourcebook encourages action aimed at managing agricultural biodiversity resources within existing landscapes and ecosystems, in support of the livelihoods of farmers, fishers and livestock keepers. The publication is a compilation of field-based experiences by scientists, development specialists, academics, policy-makers and donors around the world; it consists of three volumes: 1) understanding agricultural biodiverity, 2) strengthening local management of agricultural biodiversity, and 3) ensuring an enabling environment for agricultural biodiversity. It is designed for use by rural development practitioners and local administrators, as well as trainors and educationalists.

Osman, A.M., E.T. Lammerts van Bueren. 2002. Bringing farmers, traders and plant breeders together to develop better suited varieties (Poster) In: R. Thompson (Ed.), Proceedings of the 14th IFOAM Organic World Conference Victoria/Canada, Aug 2002. Canadian Organic Growers Inc., Ottawa.

DFID Plant Sciences Research Programme offers an introduction to Participatory Varietal Selection and Participatory Plant Breeding, along with online presentations, publications and research highlights.

Action group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration (ETC Group, formerly RAFI) ETC group is dedicated to the conservation and sustainable advancement of cultural and ecological diversity and human rights. To this end, ETC group supports socially responsible developments of technologies useful to the poor and marginalized and it addresses international governance issues and corporate power.ETC Group works in partnership with civil society organizations for cooperative and sustainable self-reliance within disadvantaged societies, by providing information and analysis of socioeconomic and technological trends and alternatives. This work requires joint actions in community, regional, and global fora. ETC Group's strength is in the research and analysis of technological information (particularly but not exclusively plant genetic resources, biotechnologies, and [in general] biological diversity), and in the development of strategic options related to the socioeconomic ramifications of new technologies.