The COUSIN project is helping strengthen Europe’s food system by conserving and promoting the use of crop wild relatives (CWRs) to support the development of more resilient and sustainable crops. By unlocking the potential of these wild species, the project contributes to addressing some of the major challenges facing agriculture, including climate change, biodiversity loss and the need for healthier and more sustainable food systems.

This video showcases the progress and achievements of the first two and a half years of the project. It highlights how researchers, plant breeders, farmers and policymakers are working together across Europe to integrate crop wild relatives into breeding programmes, identify valuable traits and evaluate innovative tools under real farming conditions through collaborative field trials.

The video also illustrates the important role that crop wild relatives can play in supporting climate-resilient agriculture, healthier diets and biodiversity conservation, while generating scientific evidence to inform policies that benefit farmers, breeders, consumers and society.

Enjoy the video!