NordGen - Nordic Genetic Resource Center- Pre-breeding in Nordic countries -

NordGen 10th. June 2013, NordGen Alnarp, Morten Rasmussen

Plant Genetic Resources are very important for securing the food chain…

A global population > 9 billions require intensified & sustainable agriculture...

Challenges are many –• Climate change adaptation• Sustainable intensification / green agriculture• Changing market demands

Exploiting plant genetics provides a sustainable solution;-

We need much more focus on plant breeding & access to improved varieties

Plant breeding chainGeneric genetic-knowledge

Comodity trade

Plant biotechnology –methods

Plant genetic resourcdes - variation

Plant breeding research

Pre-breeding-adaptation Grower

Seed production

Testing/registration

Plant breeding- variety production

Marketing

Consumer

Food industry -processing

Society

Plant breeding chainGeneric genetic-knowledge

Comodity trade

Plant biotechnology –methods

Plant genetic resourcdes - variation

Plant breeding research

Pre-breeding-adaptation

Grower

Seed production

Testing/registration

Plant breeding- variety production

Marketing

Consumer

Food industry -processing

Society

Plant breeding chain

Generic genetic-knowledge

Comodity trade

Plant biotechnology –methods

Plant genetic resourcdes - variation

Plant breeding research

Pre-breeding-adaptation

Grower

Seed production

Testing/registration

Plant breeding- variety production

Marketing Consumer

Food industry -processing

Society

?

PGR ”Buzzwords”: Sustainable UtilizationPurpose of Genebanks: Securing Conservation & Sustainable UtilizationWork plans: Promote Use, Provide access, Informing about value of PGR, etc

CBD, Article 6. General Measures for Conservation and Sustainable Use , Article 10. Sustainable Use of Components of Biological Diversity

Nagoya Protocol, Article 9. Contribution to Conservation and Sustainable Use(background to ABS)

Aichi Targets: Strategic Goal B: Reduce the direct pressures on biodiversity and promote sustainable use, Target 7 : By 2020 areas under agriculture, aquaculture and forestry are managed sustainably, ensuring conservation of biodiversity.

Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Issues Brief 9 - Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture

ITPGRFA , Article 1 – Scope, Article 6 - Sustainable Use of Plant Genetic Resources

2nd High-level Roundtable on the ITPGRFA on the occasion of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio Six-Point Action Plan for the ITPGRFA, Point 2. To promote a public-private partnership for pre-breeding;

PGR ”Action”

….. little….

AEGIS= Conservation, unfunded ITPGRFA, coming up Sep 2013Different traditions in different countries (GFP in Germany)Nordic PPP!!!

• Operate between science and plant breeding• Difficult to publish / difficult to get credit• Precompetitive• Long term engagement

• Difficult to fund

Before:Breeding companies, universities & sector research:

- room for “In Kind” workSNP – Samnordisk Planteforædling(NKJ)

• Nordic report on the situation and status of Nordic plant breeding:”Meassures to promote Nordic Plant Breeding”

• NordGen: Pre-breeding seminar & workshops• 2009 Alnarp (ECPGR, SLU, NordGen)• 2011 Siikaranta (NCM NordGen)• 2012 Stende (Nordic Baltic, Baltic Sea NCM)• 2013 Alnarp (Eucarpia)

Renewed attention

• PPP - Overview

Framework for Nordic PPP NordGen 17th. February 2011, Pre-Breeding workshop, Helsinki, Morten Rasmussen, Anders Nilsson, Roland von Bothmer

1) base broadening of Nordic crops2) (gene) introduction of specific traits in adapted

germplasm3) development of efficient tools & methods

Pre-Breeding definition

PPP: Purpose

• Support development of Nordic plant breeding for longsighted needs in agriculture & horticulture

– Adaptation to climate change– Meeting environment goals– Consumer & market demand

– Pre-competive, strategic

• NCM – FJLS (Fish, Agriculture, Food & Forest)– Funding secretariat & SC

• NordGen (secretariat)

• Nordic Agricultural Ministries– Funding collaborative projects

• Private plant breeding companies (9 of 10)• Public institutes and universities involved in

plant breeding & plant breeding research (4)

PPP: Stakeholders

PPP: Organization

• Steering committee (SC)– Decisions, documents, ToR, RoP, forms

• Secretariate – NordGen– Contractual partner, admin, econ.

• Collaborative projects (3)– Apple– Barley– Ryegrass

PPP-SC construction• 10 members:

– 5 appointed by NCM, after proposal from national ministry– 1 appointed by Nordic universities (NOVA)– 4 appointed by plant breeding entities

• 1 observer from Baltic states (Est)• NCM appoints chair person• Members are appointed for 3 years• Equal gender etc.• Quorum at 50% of members present• Decisions taken unanimously

PPP: Which projects?• Initiatives from plant breeding, - no open calls for research;

scientific assessment• 50/50 funding, contribution in-kind possible, - performance

at universities/institutes preferred• Pre-competitive, - i.e.. 2 of 3 possible companies as

partners• Nordic profile• Start with pilot projects• Draft examples on barley and forages• 1st call targeted: Barley, forage & fruit-berries

PPP: Evaluation• Scientific evaluation

– Novelty, quality, methods, competences, capacity, collaboration, access, planning, structure and sustainability

– External evaluator

• Evaluation for relevance– Contributions to call, pre-competitiveness, co-funding,

results, impact , dissemination, ownership, relevance for breeding, production and market, Nordic value, synergi

– Steering committee

• Total frame: App. 8 mill. DKR per year• 2011-2013 Pilot phase

• 50% Public money / 50% Private

• Company costs in project based agreements, as a part of the project budget

(Secretariat funded by NMR separately)

PPP: Economical frame

• Projects initiated

PPP Project 1: NordApp

• Pre-breeding for Future Challenges in Nordic Apples

• SLU + Graminor + MTT• Coordinator: Prof. Hilde Nybom• Total budget: 3.384.302 DKR• Link to EU project Fruitbreedomics

(www.fruitbreedomics.com),

PPP Project 1: NordAppWP 1. Nordic platform for fruit and berry breedingWP 2. Information retrieval and networkingWP 3. Phenotyping of apple canker susceptibility in apple cultivarsWP 4. Phenotyping of storage rot susceptibility in apple cultivarsWP 5. DNA-based analysesWP 6. Information dissemination

PPP Project 1: NordApp

Status:• Network in place, well integrated• Reorganized some of the work (better use of staff

resources)• Partly delayed• Very good disease tests• Good critics, optimistic

PPP Project 2: Barley• Combining Knowledge from Field and from Laboratory

for Pre-breeding in Barley

• Validation, testing, developing of molecular markers for disease resistance

• Nordic Seed, Sejet, Graminor, Lantmännen, Boreal, LBHI, UMB, KU

• Coordinator: Dr.Prof. Ahmed Jahoor• Total budget : 9.302.331 DKR

PPP Project 2: Barley

• WP M: Database development and association mapping -published markers associated to a panel of Nordic breeding lines

• WP T: Agronomic traits – field test for disease resistance• WP F: Preparing for the future – work plan next phase, select

resistance traits & dev. populations

PPP Project 2: BarleyStatus:• Joint panel of candidate lines in trials – very close collaboration• Good field evaluations, all disease scores, good analysis• Association studies succesful• Following project plan• Allready concrete results: Markers for daylength & Nematode

resistance!!!

PPP Project 3: Ryegrass• PPP for pre-breeding in perennial ryegrass

(Lolium perenne L.)

• UMB,Graminor + Lantmännen + DLF, UÅ + LBHI+ Boreal +Jõgeva

• Coordinator: Prof. Odd Arne Rognli• Total budget : 3.143.700 DKR• Linked to NOFOCGRAN, VARCLIM

PPP Project 3: RyegrassWP 1. Locating and requesting Lolium perenne L. accessions and cultivarsWP 2. Multiplication of gene bank accessions for further testingWP 3. Testing the potential winter hardiness of existing perennial ryegrass

cultivarsWP 4. Phenotyping of gene bank accessionsWP 5. Establishing a broad breeding population (Base broadening)WP 6. Genetic diversity analyses and trait/marker associationsWP 7. Testing of plant materials from WP1 and WP2WP 8. Establish the broad breeding population in different growing conditionsWP 9. Test the accessions from WP1 and WP2 for winter survival (frost) and

diseases resistance in lab testsWP 10. Identify marker-trait associations

PPP Project 3: RyegrassStatus:• Material selected• Trials successfully established• Good data on winter hardiness• Seed multiplication ongoing• Following project plan

• Continuation; - expected process…

• Evaluation– Focus og process of initiation, network building, ”mashinery” – does the PPP work?, rather

than outcome (premature)– PPP-SC/ Secretariat: ToR for Evaluation, approved by NCM– Spring 2013– External evaluation panel– Self evaluations & Interviews

• Audit– E & Y Malmö– April-May 2013

• Evaluation panel• Prof. Wolfgang Friedt, Justus Liebig University Giessen• Prof. Åsmund Bjørnstad, Norwegian University of Life Sciences• Morten Andersen Linnet, Danish Agriculture & Food Council (Chair)• Max Schulman, The Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK)

PPP: Evaluation & Audit

PPP: Audit

• Recommendations – general for the PPP– PPP is well established – Cost verification simpler (adm)– General guidelined for salary costs– Gereral OH guidelines for all– Routines satisfactory (payments, verification, control)– Cost association to projects satisfactory

POSITIVE

PPP: Evaluation• Recommendations

– PPP is continued– Need for collaboration where the commercial plant breeding incentives are inadequate

(niche or underutilized crops…)– Nordic markets are thoroughly analyzed to direct attention– Organization adequate basis for further development– Nordic Council of Ministers receives the full benefit and Nordic added value of the

conserving activities in the gene bank– Recommends to consider to make PPP core task of NordGen– Recommends that reliable funding of the three pilot projects is provided for a new PPP

program phase from 2014-17– Recommends that the next phase is with the full public funding on DKK 25 m/year,

when new high level projects are established and in full operation– Next call open– Alternatively (but not preferable) one might consider a step-wise build-up from– 50/50% funding ok, but there is a need for a flexible system– Important that the public funding can show a similar long-term engagement

POSITIVE!!!

• Funding....– Remnant funding, phase 1: ~ 4 mill DKK– PPP SC: New call postponed to continue ongoing projects– Scale for future PPP program?

• Need to expand to more crops• Need to continue ongoing collaboration• Need long term engagement from funding ministries

• Secure involvement of gene bank PGR?

PPP Funding situation

PPP Next steps• May 2013 Evauation ready• May 2013 Mid term Audit ready• May-Aug 2013 mid-term reports from projects• Jun 2013 Nordic Ministers’ summer meeting: Decide future for PPP• Sep 2013 Prepare prolongation of present pilot phase• Autumn 2013 Project apply for prolongation (as simple as possible)• Autumn 2013 SC decide prolongation of projects• Dec 2013 Conditions for future decided & informed• Dec 2013 Decide prolongation of phase• Spring 2014 funding for 2014-? in place• Summer 2014 develop 2nd Call• Jan 2015 Next Call• - Continuation of PPP collaboration....

Pre-Breeding Concept Note• What is Pre-Breeding?

• Definition• Why do we need it?

• Urgency & reasons• Which crops and which traits are important?

• General challenges• Crops specific challenges

• How should we do it?• Model

• Long term engagement!

EU Horizon 2020 & FAO/ITPGRFA

• FAO/ITPGRFA• Expert consultancy 30th-31st May 2013 Rome• PPP – Pre-breeding ~ support utilization § of theTreaty

• EU commission (Horizon 2020)• Concept Note – call?• Workshop 19th-20th September 2013 (MR+AJ)• PPP pre-breeding / plant breeding on EU level?

• Linked National –Nordic –PPP –EU initiatives?• Stability, continuation & expansion?

• “Connected” chain in our regionconservation – science - breeding - market

• Flow of pre-breeding/breeding projects• Adapted seeds for Nordic/Baltic region

Thank you for your attention!