Rete Semi Rurali (Rural Seeds Network) is an NGO located in Italy working to improve biodiversity through farmer traditional knowledge networks and seed autonomy. My internship involved three main tasks: a farm knowledge tool description; support and research for a grant proposal, and hands-on fieldwork with a Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) LIVESEED tomato project located in Rome. The farm knowledge description tool consisted of gathering reports on traditional farming practices throughout the Mediterranean. These reports were then translated into English and logged in a consistent format for ease of distribution. The second phase focused on a grant proposal for Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA). PRIMA funds social and environmental innovation in the agro-food systems based in the Mediterranean. Work consisted of hands-on involvement with writing and review of the grant. The last phase, and majority of the internship, consisted of field work on a Participatory Plant Breeding tomato seed farm in partnership with the Regional Agency for the Development and Innovation of Agriculture in the Lazio Region. Fieldwork involved each step of the tomato breeding process, from planting to harvesting and drying seeds, and concluded by testing a Participatory Plant Breeding monitoring app for potential use in the following years. The internship has been a great experience. Farming is not nearly as simple as we perceive it to be and farmers deserve far more credit than they receive for the important and challenging work they do on a daily basis.
