Valeria Negri has devoted her life to the study and conservation of Italy´s crop diversity, a concern of hers ever since she was a small girl. She followed her passion to train as a geneticist and plant breeder and now is passing on that passion to the next generation of scientists. Concerned by the threats facing traditional crop varieties due to urbanization and modern agriculture, Valeria (often with her students in tow) scours the country in search of local types and the knowledge that makes them so valuable. She grows them in her garden and makes seeds available to others to remove any threat of extinction.
For the past 20 years, Valeria has grown a wealth of traditional varieties of crops in her garden: garlic, broccoli, pea, tomato, common bean, beta, rape, artichoke, salad, as well as apricots, apples, cherries, peaches, plum trees and various aromatic herbs. These are heirloom varieties handed down by family or given to her by local farmers.
Valeria has long been a vigorous promoter of the value of household heritage varieties, the importance of their diversity for future needs, and the role they can play in sustaining local economies. She has inspired both her students and her scientific colleagues to take action in their own lives to conserve and use agricultural biodiversity for the benefit of generations to come.
