Seeds that give : In focus

In 1997, the biodiversity program evolved into the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity (SUB) program initiative, retaining its major objec- tives and approach: ➛ to promote the use, maintenance, and enhancement of the knowledge, innovations, and practices of indigenous and local communities to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity; ➛ to develop incentives, methods, and policies that facilitate the [...] The pioneering efforts highlighted in this book to maintain or enlarge the space for the dynamic evolution of diversity, for the improvement of agricultural productivity, and for the recognition of both farmers’ and breeders’ knowledge and skills are a great inspiration. [...] We do know that the invention of agriculture represented a sea change in the evolution of humanity leading to the social systems and structures that we call “civilization.” Over the millennia, the processes of farmer experimentation led to the domestication of an ever wider range of plants to meet specific needs, preferences, and environmental conditions. [...] This trend and the increasing industrialization of agriculture are key factors in what can only be called “genetic erosion.” The term refers to both the loss of species and the reduction of variety, and it includes not only plants but also animals and microorganisms, 2 SEEDS THAT GIVE: PARTIC IPATORY PLANT BREEDING as well as the gradual breakdown of the processes that maintain the evolution of di [...] In the words of the FAO’s 1998 report on the state of the world’s plant genetic resources for food and agricul- ture: “It may be necessary to rethink conventional breeding strategies.” Rethinking conventional breeding strategies means above all recognizing the key roles of farmers and their knowledge and social organization in the management and maintenance of agrobiodiversity.