Policy Support
For Agrobiodiversity Utilisation

By B.K. Joshi & M.P. Upadhyaya

AGROBIODIVERSITY is the subset of biological diversity that support the agriculture production systems of farming culture, the crops, livestock, insects, microoganisms and the agro ecological process of which they are the part. It is the ultimate basis for local food self- sufficiency. The environmental setting, population and social organization, modern technologies, and new interventions have direct influence on agrobiodiversity.

Nepal is home to a rich variety of genetic resources. There are 500 edible species in Nepal. Among them, 200 species are cultivated and 20 species used as food. This natural wealth includes several wild/domesticated species/varieties of crop and animals that indigenous and local communities have developed over the centuries. The varieties/breeds that have emerged over time and space contain a unique pool of genes well adapted to local condition. The present policy on genetic diversity is more focused on forest resources than on genetic diversity of the agricultural crops and livestock, which are an important source of livelihood for Nepalese people.

Farmers’ varieties, which have suffered the most serious erosion in the last 20-30 years, have evolved and are adapted to conditions of traditional agriculture. They are tolerant to environmental fluctuation. The genetic variability of these varieties provides some in-built insurance against hazards of disease and pests, a protection, which is enhanced by traditional agricultural practices like mixed cropping. The food security of the country is vulnerable. Conservation of biodiversity in the farmers’ fields in an important step towards ensuring food security of the country.

Conservation strategy

In-situ conservation refers to the maintenance of genetic resources in natural settings. For crop resources, this means the continued cultivation of crop genetic resources in the farming systems where they have evolved. In-situ conservation of crop germplasm has been proposed by several authors, but little progress has been made in suggesting concrete steps to implement it. Initiating a programme of on-farm conservation depends on two elements. First, it must be ex-situ complementarity to the prevailing conservation strategy, exist conservation. Complementary with ex-situ methods means that the two approaches do not compete with one another but share a common institutional framework. Secondly in-situ conservation has to satisfy broadly shared development goals, such as increased farm income, besides conservation.

In-situ conservation of PGR (Plant Genetic Resources) can make a direct contribution to the well being of farmers and communities by ensuring that adapted plant types remain directly available to them for their own use. It provides an essential part of development strategies based on sustainable use and an equitable sharing of benefits. The major contribution of in-situ strategies is to maintain evolutionary processes. In-situ conservation strategies also promote a broader range of partnership in conservation efforts.

Two research projects are under way with the support of International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGR) to understand and implement the philosphy and scientific basis of in-situ conservation of agricultural biodiversity in Nepal. One of these is Study on the scientific basis of in-situ conservation of agricultural biodiversity. This is being implemented in three districts of Nepal representing major agro-ecological zones. The high altitude is represented by Jumla, and mid hill by Kaski and the plains by Bara in-situ ecosites. The second on-going PGR project is the conservation of crop gene pool of buckwheat.

Results from these projects indicate that uneven diffusion of improved crops and mixed planting of improved and local varieties help to maintain large amounts of traditional germplasm in these areas. However, 30 per cent of rice landraces are endangered. Rather, farmers in all three areas incorporate modern varieties into a farming system without discarding traditional varieties. Farming systems are often subdivided. The sub-division of farming systems to incorporate modern varieties may be enhanced by the environmental heterogeneity but it is equally dependent on-farmer knowledge, technology, and work. De fact, on farm conservation of traditional landraces occurs even as the farming system changes and modern varieties are adopted. Because landraces depend on agriculture, their on-farm conservation cannot be accomplished through isolation in biological reserved; rather it must be accomplished by encouraging farmers to continue planting landraces, as they continue to do. The major challenge of implementing on farm-conservation for crop species is to encourage farmers in areas of diversity to continue planting diverse mixtures of landraces for both subsistence and commercial purposes. Marketing traditional crops already exist and can be strengthened with standard agricultural development strategies.

Prime examples of this are diversity fairs and expositions, which award farmers for the production and display of diversity in traditional crops. Conservation goals can be met by taking advantage of
the fact that farmers in many areas continue to produce landraces. Farmers in marginal areas who increase their production of landraces for market may actually receive greater income than by switching to modern varieties.

NARC (National Agriculture Research Centre) has short-term facility of cold storage, which is established during 1970s for PGR conservation. At present there are accessions of 90 species stored at 5 degree C and 45 per cent of 10723 humidity. NARC with the collaboration of NGO, Community Biodiversity Register has been developing at three ecosites i e. Jumla, Kaski and Bara representing high, middle and low attitudes of cropping systems in Nepal with objectives to develop registrating of crops developed by local communities over the time. Considering the global movement on PGR, NARC is also documenting DNA as well as isozymes fingerprinting and phenotypic characters of limited crop and animal species. It is necessary to characterize and evaluate and document at least at all economically important crops and animals. Documentation of information on PGR at phenotypic and genetic levels will help in future to make easy access to farmers and scientists. Though it is very difficult to answer the queries like a) how much agro biodiversity we have lost, b) what and how much these agro biodiversity contributed to agriculture development at national and international level, and c) how much of agrobiodiversity is necessary for long term sustainability of agriculture systems, but what we can say that agrobiodiversity is necessary for sustaining the agriculture systems.

Policy needs

Under agrobiodiversity, on-farm conservation is prime concerns for sustainable agriculture in diverse agro climatic regions. Three major components are necessary to implement a programme of in-situ conservation an institutional framework, an information base, and a policy framework. Present agricultural policy supports dissemination of improved varieties, superior quality seeds and production practices through credit, subsidy and extension policies. There are inadequate policies, acts and laws for the sustainable utilisation and conservation of agrobiodiversity on-farm in Nepal. Government should have policy to develop the registration of all properties like private properties are maintained by individual. Unless government policy addresses the challenging issues properly the conservation and utilisation of genetic resources will be affected negatively. Both strategies in-situ and ex-situ should be equally considered for conservation of agrobiodiversity. Measures are needed which will support the continued maintenance and evolution of this diversity through a vigorous and comprehensive programme on conserving plant genetic resources. Effective management and conservation of genetic resources on-farm takes place where the resources are valued and used to meet the needs of local communities and contribute to development. The Government needs to incorporate explicit and robust measures into national law for sustainable conservation and utilisation of agrobiodiversity. In this process the role of indigenous and local communities must be recognised by the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilisation of their knowledge, innovations and practices. Further, attention should be given to minimise the negative impacts of Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and with a sui generis system to meet the requirements of TRIPS Agreement and Convention on Biological Diversity.

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