FAO Guidelines Support Conservation of Crop Genetic Diversity
22/11/2019
The lack of variety and increasing uniformity of crops may render food systems unsustainable, a new set of conservation guidelines by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) warns. Titled, ‘Voluntary Guidelines for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Farmers Varieties,’ the publication highlights how crop genetic diversity enables resistance to environmental, climactic and other shocks.
Launched at the Eighth Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR) on 14 November, the Guidelines serve as a tool for development practitioners, researchers, students and policymakers. They offer a systematic approach to on-farm activities to conserve crop genetic resources, and they complement the ‘Voluntary Guidelines for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Crop Wild Relatives and Wild Food Plants,’ published in 2018. The Guidelines also align with SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) target 2.5, which calls for, by 2020, maintaining the genetic diversity of seeds and cultivated plants and their related wild species.