Community based approach to on-farm conservation and sustainable use of agricultural biodiversity in Asia.

Abstract

On-farm conservation is a process of the continuous cultivation and management of a diverse set of populations by farmers in the agro-ecosystem where a crop has evolved. The continued evolution and adaptation of a species/cultivar, including adaptation to climate change, thus depend on continuous on farm management of local crop diversity. The paper discusses challenges of implementation of the on-farm conservation, despite signifi cant support from the global scientific as well as civil society agencies, as the preferred method of conservation. Illustrating the insights obtained from three research case studies on crops and fruits of donor funded on-farm initiatives in Nepal and India and South East Asia, the paper aims to highlight the role and importance of community involvement for on-farm conservation of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA). Community biodiversity management (CBM) emerged as an approach that is increasingly recognized as a process that contributes to on-farm conservation through the management of landscape, species and genetic diversity.