Identification of the scientific services, stakeholders, promoters and utilizers of the proposed RI (v1)

Despite the high number of accessions stored in European genebanks, several issues still affect the conservation and hinder the use of plant genetic resources (PGR) in research and breeding at the European level. Some gaps that are often encountered in the current PGR European scenario are: lack of quality management systems for PGR conservation, inadequate integration of in situ and ex situ conservation strategies, inconsistent accessibility and interoperability of data; lack of access to advanced –omics technologies and services, difficulties in interpreting and applying policies and legislations on PGR. The proposed research infrastructure dedicated to PGR, GRACE-RI, will have the opportunity to tackle these issues, and, through enabling research activities on PGR, prevent the loss of PGR diversity and promote their use to support the transition to a more sustainable and productive agriculture in a changing climate.

The main aim of Deliverable 5.2 was to identify the stakeholders and services of GRACE-RI as well as possible links and synergies among them, in a first iteration.

This Deliverable also includes the results of a stakeholder survey carried out in October 2023 in the framework of a PRO-GRACE workshop. We identified ten groups of stakeholders (i.e. in situ genetic reserves; genetic resources centres; farmers; seed companies; other private service providers; other research infrastructures; public research centres; non-governmental organizations; PGR conservation and research networks; policymakers, legislators and policy experts) and highlighted their roles in the long-term conservation and sustainable use of PGR at European level. Moreover, we identified and described nine main areas where GRACE-RI could provide services (i.e. quality management systems for PGR conservation; taxonomy; data storage, completeness, and availability; phenotyping; genotyping and metabolic profiling; data analysis; phytosanitary aspects; policy and regulatory aspects; education and dissemination) and that can fill current gaps in PGR conservation, access and use. We also envisioned how the above-mentioned stakeholder groups can contribute to and benefit from these services.

This deliverable will be further developed in a second iteration and should consider some key aspects in the next version, namely: 1) include the findings of other deliverables that are currently in preparation; 2) carry out wider surveys of potential stakeholders; 3) pinpoint in better detail the types of services that GRACE-RI will ultimately provide, and how the responsibility of providing services can be assigned to the appropriate stakeholders; 4) inform the proposal for a well-defined governance structure that will enable the provision of GRACE-RI services and facilitate the interaction between providers and utilizers of the RI.

Deliverable D5.2 was led by ECPGR/IPGRI in collaboration with CREA, UNITO, BLE, CNR, NORDGEN, PSR, UOB, KIS, UEB, IPK, INRAE, RSR, WR, ENEA

For more information, download the Deliverable report.