Participatory Management of Plant Genetic Resources in Oases of the Maghreb

The project focuses on activities that will serve to broaden the number of date palm varieties that will be grown in-situ by comparison to baseline projections, rather than promote higher yields or an expansion of market demand, which are not incremental activities. Project activities are summarised as follows; (1) in-situ pre-screening to make more efficient the process of varietal selection for multiplication; (2) adapting techniques to multiply a greater range of date palm varieties; (3) develop alternative markets for date palm products and create value for a wide range of phenotypic characteristics and the incentive to grow more varieties in-situ; (4) develop national capacity to negotiate genetic property rights concerning win/win partnerships; and (5) replicate project best practices at other sites.