Agricultural Biodiversitypromoting adaptive capacity within
production systems
Paola De Santis, Devra Jarvis
How we work
� A Research Agency for development
� With partners (NGOs, IGOs, Universities, local communities and others)
� No laboratories or field sites
� Through networks
Where we workA staff of over 300 operating from 30
locations around the world
What we do
� Bioversity seeks to provide evidence of the benefits of agricultural biodiversity for:• Improved productivity, resilience and resistance in farming systems• Better human health through improved nutrition & diversified diets• Enhanced options for income generation
� Benefits are secured through:• Informed policies, public awareness, increased
capacities to manage biodiversity
� Upscale benefits through:• Widely applicable methods based on greater
understanding of benefits
Building Better Use of Agricultural Biodiversity
� Build strong scientific evidence base
to convince the major development actors� Adopt different development models
• Combining multi-functional benefits of diversity• Based on better use of the adaptive
capacity of local diversity• Taking into consideration cultural values
� Document and conserve traditional knowledge
� Ensure Awareness
maize, beans, chili, squash
maize, chili, casava, cotton, peanuts
maize, beans,
sorghum, cowpea, millet, okra
durum wheat, faba bean, barley
sorghum, durum wheat
rice, taro
rice, barley, finger millet, taro, sponge gourd, pigeon pea
Morocco Hungary
PeruEthiopia
Mexico
VietnamBurkina Faso
Nepal
Simple globally applicable diversity measures: Richness , evenness, and divergenceevenness ,
Are
a pl
ante
d
Crop variety
and divergence
The “on-farm project” (Jarvis et al., PNAS, 2008)
Agricultural diversity is managed and maintained by small scale farmers in the developing world.
4-5 traditional sorghum varieties per farm ( 1.2 ha) and 23 per
community with any two plants drawn at random within a farm
differed in 69% (within a community 91%) Burkina faso
Jarvis et al. 2008
2-3 traditional rice varieties per farm ( 0.2 ha), 34 per community,
with any two plants drawn at random within a farm differed in 25% (within a community 77%)
Nepal and Vietnam
2-5 traditional apple varieties per farm, 8-10 per community, + wild apple for
rootstock, seedlings and fruits Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
Traditional varieties of Phaseolus lunatus in Cuban home gardens
cover the diversity of the entire national ex-situ
collection.
30 home gardens per agroecosystem - a
sampling strategy. Cuba and Guatemala
The Importance of Agrobiodiversity
� Conventional view
• As a source of traits for crop improvement at global level
Country inter-dependence, simplification and vulnera bility
X Data
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
MaizeWheatAppleRice
SorghumBeans
52
0.6
1.9
2.2
2.313
US$ Billions
2007 Value of US Production
• As a source of traits for crop improvement at global lev el
USDA stat.
0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00
Rice
Apples
MaizeWheatMaize
Sorghum
Apples
Potatoes
Rice
2008 Value of France Production
US$ Billions
10.4
4.4
1.5
1.3
0.03
0.05
FAOSTAT.
0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00
Rice
Apples
MaizeWheatMaize
Sorghum
Apples
Potatoes
Rice
2008 Value of France Production
US$ Billions
10.4
4.4
1.5
1.3
0.03
0.05
FAOSTAT.
The Importance of Agrobiodiversity
� Conventional view• As a source of traits for crop improvement at global level
� Unconventional: more sustainable agriculture
• As a source of traits for participatory crop improvement through PPB/PVS
In 2006, Jethobudho rice is formally released through the Nepalese Seed system as Nepal’s first farmer bred registered variety
Community institutions with the capacity to access, conserve and benefit from diversity
JBT1
JBT2
JBT4
JBT5
JBT6
JBT7
PB1RBN
AZU
JBT3IR36
0.28 0.46 0.64 0.82 1.00
Aromatic
Non-aromatic
JBT1
JBT2
JBT4
JBT5
JBT6
JBT7
PB1RBN
AZU
JBT3IR36
0.28 0.46 0.64 0.82 1.00
JBT1
JBT2
JBT4
JBT5
JBT6
JBT7
PB1RBN
AZU
JBT3IR36
0.28 0.46 0.64 0.82 1.00
Aromatic
Non-aromatic
The Importance of Agrobiodiversity
� Conventional view• As a source of traits for crop improvement at global level
� Unconventional: more sustainable agriculture• As a source of traits for crop improvement through PPB
• As a source of increased income and improved livelihoods, especially in marginal areas
Better marketing of local crops (case of leafy vegetables in Kenya with >1,100 % rise of sales over 2 years)
Major constraints to consumption of indigenous leafy vegetables were the cost, lack of time and knowledg e in food preparation
Options for income generation
Local food sources: shorter, more equitable, more transparent market chains
300 farming families monitored increased their production from 31 to 400 tons a month
The Importance of Agrobiodiversity
� Conventional view• As a source of traits for crop improvement at global level
� Unconventional: more sustainable agriculture• As a source of traits for crop improvement through PPB• As a source of increased income and improved
livelihoods, especially in marginal areas
• As a source of better nutrition
� Traditional leafy vegetables for nutrition• More than 200 species in Kenya• Much more nutritious
� Source of improved family nutrition
Indigenous fruit and leaf vegetables –suppliers of ascorbic acid, micronutrients (minerals & vitamins), anti-oxidants
The Importance of Agrobiodiversity
� Conventional view• As a source of traits for crop improvement at global level
� Unconventional: more sustainable agriculture• As a source of traits for crop improvement through PPB• As a source of increased income and improved
livelihoods, especially in marginal areas• As a source of better nutrition
• As a valuable contribution to sustaining cultural, ethnic traditions and identity
Sustaining cultural, ethnic traditions and identity
“Such is the Happenings of a Village”
�Diversity field fora and seed fairsto promote traditional know-how
Diversity Field Fora
� Empower small farmers to develop more effective livelihoods strategies
� Enhance identification and promotion of local genetic resources
� Enhance exchange of knowledge and local genetic resources
� Technical knowledge of famers strengthened through specific training and field visits and observations
� Promote multi partnership (farmers, extension services, researchers, local decision makers, private sector)
� Best traditional seed conservation practices documented, and disseminated to other villages
Diversity Field Fora
Seed fairs
� Value farmers’ contribution to conservation and development of crop genetic diversity
� Exchange of information at different levels (Villagers, local Decision makers, Researchers etc.)
� Favour exchange of practices (management and conservation) among farmers from different villages.
� Favour exchange of varieties among farmers, and between farmers and researchers
Agricultural Biodiversity and Protected Areas
� (i) linking agricultural and natural landscapes� (ii) linking protected area conservation to development� (iii) linking quality production and cultural diversity to
healthy ecosystems
The Importance of Agrobiodiversity
� Conventional view• As a source of traits for crop improvement at global level
� Unconventional: more sustainable agriculture• As a source of traits for crop improvement through PPB• As a source of increased income and improved
livelihoods, especially in marginal areas• As a source of better nutrition• As a valuable contribution to sustaining cultural, ethnic
traditions and identity
• As a source of resilience and stability against abiotic and biotic threats
Abiotic: Diverse sets of varieties for unpredictabl e environmental conditions
Site 2
Site 3
Site1 Site 2
Site 3
Site1
Unpredicatable rainfall = Variety diversity
Farmers’ management of genetic diversity prevents dilution of the stress resistance characteristics of local varieties
Sawadogo et. , 2006
� One third of global harvest lost to pests and diseases
� Hypothesis of project: intra-specific diversity in farmers’fields reduces vulnerability and damage to crop• Diversity to improve resistance
and resilience• Morocco, Ecuador, China,
Uganda
Biotic: Diverse sets of varieties for managing pests and diseases
Determining when and where intra-specific diversity is the answer (and when it is not)
� Participatory Diagnostics:
• Focus Group Discussion; Household Survey;
� Technical Evaluation (laboratory and field analysis)
• Field assessment; On farm trials; Collection of path ogen variati on; On station trials; Glass house experiments.
Local mixture of 3 barley landraces (Shangrila)
• Diverse sets of varieties within a crop with:– Non-uniform resistance– Less probability that migrations of new
pathogens or mutations of existing pathogens will damage the crop
Intra-specific diversity in farmers’ fields reduces vulnerability and damage to the crop (reducing the
probability of crop loss in the future )
Results (Cont.)
Maize and N. Leaf Blight
damage
Richness x Disease Index
Variety Richness
0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5
Dis
ease
Dam
age
for
Mai
ze N
Lea
f Blig
ht
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
HH Richness vs HH Disease Damage for Maize N Le
Peng et al., 2010, unpublished dataDa
ma
ge
In
de
x =
Cro
p l
oss
(h
ou
seh
old
)
Indicators to compared to diversity to damage at household level – monitoring system resilience
Maize- Northern Leaf Blight
GPS
Higher variety richness - less variance in
damage - a risk minimizing argument for
diversity
Crop variety richness at household level
How to support and promote agrobiodiversity
Meta-populations – Rice seed networks in Nepal
� Custodians of diversity
� Population size, geneflow, migration, selection
Seed flows, seed access and seed production: A key element for communities to buffer and adapt t o change
53
26OS
182
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53
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Subedi et al., 2003
0
20
40
60
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100%
de
Agr
icul
tore
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Yuca Maíz Frijol Maní algodón Ají
No intercambia
Intercambio con la comunidad
Intercambio entre y con la comunidad
Collado et al., 2005Isolation and seed source – Amazonian Peru
Community Biodiversity Registry• Documentation• Monitoring• Marketing• Exchange• Biopiracy• Ownership
• Supporting seed systems in low heritability environments
• Participatory varietal evaluation• Fora for learning and exchange• Building trust in seed systems
Diversity Field Fora
Community institutions with the capacity to access, conserve and benefit from diversity
69133515 (43)14 (40)6 (17)2004
197238733 (38)37 (42)17 (20)2005
80216432 (50)25 (39)7 (11)2006
1032810245 (44)34 (33)23 (23)2007
TotalPoorMediumRich
Seed (Kg)
No. of landrace
s
Number of farmers of different socio-economic
Year
69133515 (43)14 (40)6 (17)2004
197238733 (38)37 (42)17 (20)2005
80216432 (50)25 (39)7 (11)2006
1032810245 (44)34 (33)23 (23)2007
TotalPoorMediumRich
Seed (Kg)
No. of landrace
s
Number of farmers of different socio-economic
Year
Access to landraces from Community Seed Bank increases particularly for the very poor
Acknowledgements and thanks: Participating farmers, local, national and internat ional institutes organisations and partners, SDC, D GIS,
FAO, UNEP/GEF, WSU, Ford Foundation, IFAD, IDRC, GT Z/BMZ, JICAS, National Government Funding
The Future
Thank you for your attention