Session on Organic plant breeding
Breeding of plant material adapted for organic agriculture is important in order to cope with stresses such as climate change, weeds and seed borne diseases. Conventional varieties may not meet the specific needs of organic agriculture. The use of plant material adapted to conditions of organic agriculture will have a positive effect on the productivity and sustainability of organic crop production.
In 2015 the Danish Organic Congress will be attended by a large number of international experts in organic plant breeding and seed production.
COBRA (Coordinating Organic plant Breeding Activities for Diversity) is a European research project which aims to unleash the potential of plant genetic diversity for organic agriculture by linking up efforts on both pure line breeding and High genetic Diversity (Hi-D) systems in cereals and grain legumes. The COBRA project is part of the CORE II program and is led by the Organic Research Centre (UK). It started in March 2013 and brings together 42 partner organizations from 18 countries. COBRA focuses on four major arable crops: wheat, barley, pea and faba bean.
The project deals with
• Seed health
• Response of crops to multiple stresses
• Improvements in breeding efficiency for organic systems
• Structural issues such as funding for breeding and the regulatory framework
• Networking and coordination
The COBRA project will have its final conference on 24th of November 2015 at Vingsted hotel og konferencecenter and will be the organizer of international sessions on the 25th November at the Danish Organic Congress.
The sessions on the Danish Organic Congress will introduce organic plant breeding to the participants (session A6), and examples of breeding activities will be presented (session B6). Policy issues and farmers rights will be the subject of session C9.
 
Financial support for this project is provided by funding bodies within the FP7 ERA-Net CORE Organic II
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