Seed Biodiversity: The Life Insurance of Our Food Production
22 May 2021 (FAO)* — Humans rely on a shockingly low number of plants for the majority of our daily calories. In fact, of the thousands of fruit and vegetable species cultivated for food, fewer than 200 make up a substantial part of food produced globally.
The cowpea, recognized for its nutritional benefits and ability to grow in sandy, semi-arid soils, is an essential crop for the communities living in the coastal savannahs of Ghana. It is an affordable, protein-rich food relied on by over 70 percent of the country’s population.
However, the parasitic witchweed (Striga gesnerioides) is severely threatening its production, leading to 80-100 percent of yield losses.
Through the University of Cape Coast, the Benefit-sharing Fund carried out a detailed assessment of different types of cowpea that led to the development, registration and release of seven new drought-tolerant, striga-resistant cowpea varieties.
In an approach that brought together researchers, scientists, farmers, breeders, technicians, producers and governmental officials, these varieties are now being cultivated and consumed by over 1 000 farmers and their families with an average increase in income of 45 percent.
3. Uncovering resilient taro species in Malaysia
Taro is a root vegetable that has been used widely for food, fodder and medicinal purposes throughout Africa, South Asia and Oceania for thousands of years.
Changing climatic conditions and disease have threatened the production of taro, but FAO’s Benefit-sharing project is working with farmers, through the Malaysia Agriculture Research and Development Institute, to strengthen the conservation and documentation of resilient taro varieties in Malaysia and other countries in Southeast Asia.
The project is establishing model farms and 20 Farmer Field Schools to test these new varieties. Five community seed banks are also being established so the farmers can guarantee their seeds are protected and can be shared with neighbouring communities.
200 small-scale taro farmers are involved in the project and will receive training on practices and technologies to process, store, transport and market this important crop.
Rice and millet are staples of the Malian diet, but with 80 percent of rainfed rice cultivation seriously affected by drought, yields have drastically reduced.
The Benefit-sharing Fund has been working with local producers and communities in 69 villages through the Institut d’Economie Rurale to preserve 266 local rice varieties and identify which species will give maximum output while tolerating drought and excessive water submersion.
Farmers are being given greater access to these varieties, and these seeds were also recently sent to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a secure seedbank in the Norwegian arctic that acts as a failsafe for seed biodiversity in the case of damage or loss of national or international seed collections.
5. Improving local varieties of wheat and barley in Morocco
Durum wheat and barley are among the staples in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, but these countries have come to rely on imports as their own crops have become increasingly affected by climate change, pests and disease. High temperatures and drought have led to a build-up of salinity in the soil and groundwater, making it difficult for certain plant species to survive.
Through ICARDA – Science for Resilient Livelihoods in Dry Areas and local partners, researchers and scientists have succeeded in producing disease-free, climate resilient plants and rapidly multiplying rare plant genotypes through in vitro culture techniques.
In these three countries, the results are being disseminated between national breeding programmes and are already helping hundreds of farming communities and the wider population.
For more stories about people and plant biodiversity all over the world, visit FAO’s “Voices of Diversity” page, where farmers, breeders and decision-makers that foster seed biodiversity voice their challenges, approaches and concerns.
The biodiversity of our fruits and vegetables is depleting at an alarming rate with devastating effects on the future of our food production. By supporting the sustainable management of crop genetic resources in developing countries, the Benefit-sharing Fund has increased the food security and improved the livelihoods of more than 1 million people so far.
Together with farming communities who are all too aware of the vital role these resources play in ensuring resilient agriculture, the Benefit-sharing fund is working to urgently preserve these living genetic resources. These seeds are resources we cannot afford to lose.
