Points of View
Agro-biodiversity
In almost all countries, but particularly in the wealthier nations, consumers have an ever-expanding range of food products from which to select at supermarkets. But the food is produced from an ever-shrinking range of crop varieties and livestock breeds. Conversely, in less developed countries the consumer has a limited choice of food products but a far greater diversity of plants and livestock for sustenance. But everywhere diversity is diminishing. Ironically, progress in agriculture depends on diversity, and yet it seems that progress is leading to less diversity. Need this be so? What is the value of agro-biodiversity? Can the biodiversity of agricultural plants and livestock be safeguarded? If so, by what means; by whom; at what and at whose cost?
Points of View offers no opposition to agro-biodiversity - like motherhood and apple pie, almost everyone considers biodiversity 'a good thing'. But views differ on definition, value, and approaches to, responsibilities for and costs of maintaining the biodiversity we would like and need to maintain.
See also What price agro-biodiversity? Developments 01-6Definitions of biodiversity
To me, biodiversity is all the beings that are related in nature: man,
animals and plants, even vegetables, rivers, seas, animals in the jungle and
all the beliefs we have kept from our ancestors and from our dreams. Wisdom
itself is also part of biodiversity
Piedad Cabascango, Ecuador, quoted in 'Biodiversity-a crucial issue for the
world's poorest', DFID and originally taken from Posey, D. (ed.) (1999)
Cultural and Spiritual Values of Biodiversity. ISBN 1-85339-394-0
What is equivalent to biodiversity here, to the things that surround us, is
my life. If you took these things away, it would be like taking part of my
life, and then my survival would be questionable
Pera of the Bakalaharil tribe, Botswana, quoted in 'Biodiversity-a crucial
issue for the world's poorest', DFID and originally taken from Posey, D. (ed.)
(1999) Cultural and Spiritual Values of Biodiversity. ISBN 1-85339-394-0
Value of biodiversity
We didn't realize when modern agriculture was introduced, and monoculture
was introduced, how much it affected poor people. To meet the basic needs of
the poor people, you have to ensure biodiversity-based production.
Farida Akhter, Executive Director of Bangladesh's Policy Research Group for
Development Alternatives (UBINIG), quoted from Protecting Uncultivated Food
Sources in South Asia
There's no development without diversity. There's no progress in
agricultural development at the farm level without plant genetic resources,
without the diversity of crop types that we have. And this form of biological
diversity is the raw material for plant evolution and for progress in
agriculture. So, plant breeders and farmers need this diversity to mould crops
for the needs of tomorrow
Cary Fowler, Special Advisor to the Director General of IPGRI in interview
for Agfax, WRENmedia
Biodiversity is important because it offers choice, not only from an
evolutionary perspective, but also from that of human development and survival.
This choice has helped people manage change
Izabella Koziell, 'Diversity
not Adversity - sustaining livelihoods with biodiversity', IIED publication
How indigenous varieties and breeds can be lost
You find there are a number of products that are eaten by poor people, they
are meant for the poor, yet they have a much higher nutritional value. Because
of the western influence, people are going for products that are more
attractive in packaging and more attractive in colour, but the taste and
nutritional value is not as high as the products we would get from the regions
that would be classified as "poor". There's a stigma attached to some
of the products from rural communities. Marketing should be part and parcel of
the whole planning process (for conserving agro-biodiversity).
Virginia Mathabire, V&J. Consulting Ltd, Zimbabwe speaker at conference
on "Incentive measures on sustainable use and Conservation of
agro-biodiversity", Lusaka, Zambia 11-14 September 2001.
We've got about 5000 breeds of livestock spread across the world that
farmers use in different environments to produce different combinations of food
and other agricultural goods. And yet only about 400 of those 5000 are now
being developed to produce more efficiently and to produce more, to realise
poverty alleviation and food security. And the vast majority, almost the total
of those 400 are in the high input production environments of the developed
world. So this really means that the livestock in the 130 developing countries
of the world are getting further behind as the pressures and the demands for
food and agricultural items increase.
Keith Hammond, Senior Officer, Breeding, Animal Production and Health
Division, FAO
Appreciating the true value of indigenous crops, livestock and foods
This vine (Guetum spp.) grows wild and has not been domesticated. It
is eaten by all the 200 ethnic groups in Cameroon and can be exported widely.
Exports to Nigeria alone are worth 1 billion CFA. It also has medicinal
benefits for high blood pressure, piles, sore throat, and it eases childbirth.
Everyone involved in harvesting it appreciates its value. We are now
understanding it better and can grow it from cuttings.
Dr Manfred Besong, Institute for Agricultural Research & Development,
Cameroon, at conference "Incentive measures on sustainable use and
Conservation of agro-biodiversity", Lusaka, Zambia 11-14 September
2001.
Richard Jones, ICRISAT, Nairobi, in interview for Agfax, WRENmedia.
In developing countries, home gardens-generally managed by women-contain the
highest levels of plant genetic diversity in the farming system. A recent study
found about 230 different plant species sheltering in 60 home gardens in an
Asian village, with each garden containing between 15 and 60 species. These
gardens are often home to traditional species and varieties and may serve as
experimental plots for testing and adapting plants for specific uses.
"Guardians of diversity", Geneflow 2000-2001, edited by Ruth
Raymond, IPGRI
Local breeds are very important to certain communities and have traits could
be used in future with genetic technology introducing resistance to disease
etc. But I feel very strongly that you shouldn't concentrate just on local
breeds - you need the complete picture and to consider the whole diversity of
domestic animal resources in a country.
Rafael Nunez Dominguez, Mexico quoted from interview for Agfax,
WRENmedia
If you have a particular breed or a flock which you've been breeding over a
number of years for specific traits which are useful in production systems, if
you suddenly lose all those genes you've wasted a lot of investment. And I
think there needs to be certainly a realisation amongst policymakers, as well
as farmers, that strategies to maintain stocks of genetic material need to be
looked at and developed and put into place.
Geoff Pollot, Imperial College at Wye, University of London, in interview
for Agfax, WRENmedia
Training, marketing and incentives
Learning itself can be a very good incentive to the conservation and
sustainable use of agro-biodiversity. When farmers come together and learn on a
'hands-on' basis, they discover quite a lot of the interactions that are going
on in their farm ecosystems, the biodiversity that is there and how they can
best utilise it. After going through the discovery process in Farmers Field
Schools, they are able to recognise and identify the natural enemies, disease
symptoms and nutritional deficiency symptoms and are then able to take the
decision to conserve the beneficial organisms
Dr Martin Kimani, Africa Regional Office, CAB International, speaker at
conference on "Incentive measures on sustainable use and Conservation of
agro-biodiversity", Lusaka, Zambia 11-14 September 2001.
Clear and effective messages regarding the significance of biodiversity to
different aspects of human development are essential to raise awareness of its
importance among decision-makers. For example, promoting a wider understanding
of how natural resource management activities, such as agriculture, wildlife
management or fisheries impact on biodiversity, and who benefits and who loses
out as a result, can also resolve any negative impacts such activities may have
on livelihoods and biodiversity.
Izabella Koziell, Co-ordinator of the Biodiversity and Livelihoods Group,
IIED, quoted from 'Diversity
not Adversity - sustaining livelihoods with biodiversity'
In terms of Africa, animal genetic resources, indigenous breeds, are closely
linked to food security. We need to improve their productivity in order to
increase their marketibility and income generation - to improve the livelihoods
of people in the rural areas. It's not just about preserving genes in case 100
years later somebody is going to need them. No. We are also talking about
climate changes, adaptation and vulnerability. These are the only breeds on
which we can base those mitigation strategies on.
Louise Setshwaelo, SADC Co-ordinator, Regional Program on Animal Genetic
Resources Management, in interview for Agfax, WRENmedia.
In the past the indigenous breeds tended to be looked down upon and people
were prefering the exotic animals, mainly because the exotic animals were being
promoted by Breed Societies. In most of our African countries we don't have
Breed Societies for indigenous breeds. And even the idea of 'a breed' in our
context didn't exist because what we refer to as a breed or strain may reflect
animals that were kept by a certain tribe. So, this is a new thing where we are
trying to educate our people about the value of these animals, that they should
conserve them, and later we will establish Breed Societies that will cater for
the interests of a particular breed or strain. In the long run this will serve
the purpose of conserving biodiversity.
Mr Baiti Podise, Department of Research, Ministry of Agriculture, Botswana,
speaker at conference "Incentive measures on sustainable use and
Conservation of agro-biodiversity", Lusaka, Zambia 11-14 September
2001.
Self-determination should be the rule in any community-based genetic
resources programme. It ensures that the beneficiaries of the programme are the
ultimate arbitrators on the direction and shape the programme will take and
pays off in the end with greater, longer-lasting success."
Jeremy Cherfas, "Recognizing the importance of indigenous plant
knowledge", Geneflow 2000-2001, IPGRI
In the area in which we are working (seed gardening), we have already
recognised that farmers are the guardians of agro-biodiversity. During the time
that we have had seed fairs, we've noticed that the farmers have a big variety
of their own local landraces. What is also encouraging is that the modern
varieties that have come in have not necessarily replaced those local
materials. Talking specifically about seed gardens, we have been thinking that
maybe this is time to start putting the local material in these gardens as a
way of supporting the conservation of those materials".
Dr Joyce Mulila-Mitti, Consultant with the SADC/GTZ seed gardens project,
speaker at conference on "Incentive measures on sustainable use and
Conservation of agro-biodiversity", Lusaka, Zambia 11-14 September
2001
I think the place for long term conservation of landraces is in a genebank
and not on farmers' fields because there is a moral quandary: if we ask poor
farmers to preserve landraces, we are asking them to except lower yields. It
seems to me that what we need to do is to have breeding methods which are
designed to preserve genetic variability on farmers' fields but that genetic
variability should be superior genetic variabiltiy which gives higher yields,
improved pest and disease resistance and better quality traits.
Dr John Witcombe, University of Wales, Bangor, UK in interview for Agfax,
WRENmedia.
The only way forward is to reward actions that conserve or sustainably use
biodiversity through carefully planned policy, institutional and market reform.
This will require serious commitment by all sectors of society and especially
for us all to realise that without addressing the biodiversity problem the
chances that today's poor will ever enjoy a similar lifestyle to today's rich
are limited
Izabella Koziell, Co-ordinator of the Biodiversity and Livelihoods Group,
IIED, quoted from 'Diversity
not Adversity-sustaining livelihoods with biodiversity'
I think the main question is 'What incentive or rewards will farmers get for
the storage of those (indigenous) materials?' If these materials went into the
seed gardens and they were recognised under the Variety Release Committee,
especially those landraces that could attract a market, I think that's the way
of farmers getting something for the materials that they have been keeping
We've just produced a Seed Garden Guide as a manual, which others can use to
see how it works in their areas".
Dr Joyce Mulila-Mitti, Consultant with the SADC/GTZ seed gardens project,
speaker at conference on "Incentive measures on sustainable use and
Conservation of agro-biodiversity", Lusaka, Zambia 11-14 September
2001
Paying for biodiversity
Eighty-five per cent of the wheat varieties being released in developing
countries today by the national programmes trace their ancestry to materials
from CIMMYT. In other words, this international institution, public
institution, serves literally hundreds of millions of farmers and billions of
people. Compare their budget, which is upwards of US$35 million per year, with
the agricultural research budget of the State of Michigan in the United States,
which serves nine thousand farmers and receives more money than CIMMYT. Then
you begin to get an idea of how woefully inadequate international agricultural
funding really is. The cost of conserving all our agricultural diversity, dare
I say, is peanuts!".
Cary Fowler, Special Advisor to the Director General of IPGRI in interview
for Agfax, WRENmedia
