Dr. Jai Chand Rana
Mainstreaming Native Crops and Varieties of Agricultural Crops for enhancing climate resilience, nutrition, livelihoods and ecosystems services
Genetic innovations using native varieties and landraces and crops wild relatives for stress tolerance.
Dr. Jai Rana is currently working Country Representative and National Coordinator for UN Environment GEF project at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT in India. He has done Ph.D. in Genetics and Plant Breeding and Post Doctorate in Molecular Plant Breeding. His area of research primarily focusses on enhancing adaptive management of crop diversity for resilient agriculture and improved livelihoods through strengthening crowd sourcing (putting landraces/ farmers varieties and modern varieties together and allow need based participatory selection), local seed supply systems, establishment of community genebanks, seed fairs, field evaluation trials and demonstrations that enable farmers to benefit from diversity rich solutions. This also includes identification of suitable crop diversity to address such challenges, improved awareness and information on varietal adaptation based on scientifically sound evidence and its validation by farmers and communities. It also aims to increase farmers’ access to crop genetic resources, so that farmers benefit from having locally adapted materials in population sizes large enough to buffer against change in climate and other factors and ensure sustainable agriculture. He has identified several trait specific sets of germplasm for agronomic, quality and biotic stresses including a core collection in beans, buckwheat and grain amaranth. He has published his research as research papers in > 200 peer reviewed national and international journals. Received several awards and fellowships such as MS Swaminathan National Award for outstanding Research on Hill Agriculture, Fellow of National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, ICAR-UNDP Fellowship; Post Doc Fellowship of MHRD etc.
Dr. Jai Chand Rana
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.