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that know how to thrive in northwestern Ontario?
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Landrace seed breeding is a millennia-old sustainable breeding technique that works collaboratively with communities and ecosystems to develop genetically diverse crop populations that produce regionally adapted, stable yields. It is also an accessible way to introduce and involve people to seed saving and sustainable agriculture. Landrace seeds are highly resilient and adaptable to changing environmental conditions. This project will breed landraces at the Lakehead University Agricultural Research Station (LUARS), on farms in the Thunder Bay region, and in communities across northwestern Ontario. Through this work we aim to build landrace breeding capacity and gain a better understanding of the impacts of this practice in supporting resilient regional food systems and seed sovereignty in our region.
This project has four objectives:
1) To evaluate the agronomic impacts of landrace seed breeding by trialing the landraces currently in development against commercial varieties
2) To support growers and communities in northwestern Ontario in the creation of landrace populations to meet their needs through seed sourcing and grow-outs
3) To raise awareness of/engage people in landrace seed breeding through field tours, workshops and training events
4) To facilitate peer-to-peer knowledge sharing as a means by which to collaboratively increase and diversify the supply of regionally adapted seed in northwestern Ontario
Together project partners will facilitate and support bringing together growers from across Northwestern Ontario engaged/wanting to engage in food and seed production. Through their engagement with the project, growers will develop their collective capacities to work with landraces, and produce seeds well suited to their ecosystems. Resources such as quantitative data sets, a handbook on landrace breeding, annual reports, academic papers, and most importantly landrace seeds will be developed and shared as a result of this project. Finally, it is our intention that this project will evolve and continue in other forms as decided by project partners.
Carrot Variety Trials (September 21, 2019)
Agroecology Field School and Research Summit (2018)