Mainstreaming Agrobiodiversity for enhancing climate resilience, nutrition, livelihoods and ecosystems services.
Continuous cultivation of a few dominant crops and varieties has eroded native crops diversity, environmental sustainability of food production, increased pest risks, etc. Declining crops and varietal diversity, narrow dietary system have led to malnutrition, and climate risks. These system shocks generally affect the marginalized fractions in society disproportionately and increase social inequality. Rural households, resource poor communities and vulnerable groups such as women and the youth bear the effects heavily as they lack resources to support rapid lifestyle adjustments. We implemented a UN Environment-GEF funded project in India and aiming to mainstream native agrobiodiversity and improving their seed systems through community seed banks and linking those production systems to various market channels from 2016-2023. The project titled “Mainstreaming agricultural biodiversity conservation and utilization in agricultural sectors to ensure ecosystem services and reduce vulnerability” was implemented at four different agro-ecological regions of India covering 17 Districts in nine states and 20 crops traditionally grown in these regions. The project aimed to provide adaptive management of crop diversity for resilient agriculture and improved livelihoods. Strategies and policies for sustainable conservation and use of crop diversity including access and benefit sharing and improved agricultural support systems, institutional frameworks and partnerships that support crop diversity on farm.
Dr. Jai Chand Rana