Conservation
- The potential economic value of biodiversity should be translated
into tangible economic benefits for the communities whose livelihood depends
on biodiversity by taking advantage of the investment and trade opportunities
that are emerging for biodiversity-based products and which should be enhanced
through incentives.
- Group-based conservation enterprises should involve women by developing
their entrepreneurial skills to ensure a fair deal in conservation. Facilitating
women’s access to technology pertaining to yield enhancement, value addition
through the processing of farm products and drudgery reduction encourages
the cultivation of local cultivars.
- The internalization of the nexus between bio and cultural diversity
should be sought to ensure communities’ and women’s greater say
and active participation in developmental interventions and policymaking.
Research and development
- Participatory evolution of technologies for productivity enhancement
through agronomic and genetic means needs to be integrated into agricultural
research. Location-specific technology for drudgery reduction and value addition
to farm products needs to be developed.
- Identifying and creating new market channels and access to information
to use niche markets such as organic/biodiversity products facilitates conservation.
- Benefit sharing methodologies need to be evolved to provide incentives
for conservers and communities to meet the economic requirements, by recognizing
and rewarding their contribution in accordance with the provisions given in
legislation such as the Biodiversity Bill and the Plant Variety Protection
and Farmer’s Rights Bill.
Policy
- Recognition of women farmers’ capacity in seed management is
the primary step in building an integrated and effective system for use, enhancement
and conservation of on-farm crop genetic diversity.
Other
- Promote the participation of local communities through a process
of community research and development in activities related to agrobiodiversity
conservation based on the assessed minimum viable population for specific
cultivars.
- Develop win-win solutions to balance conservation and management
of agrobiodiversity and the economic development of the farming families through
women’s empowerment.
