Locally rooted: Ideas and initiatives from the field

By
30 March 2014

All over the world we can find positive experiences where family farmers are working to maintain agricultural biodiversity, or are benefitting from it. Here are a four cases where farmers are making a conscious effort to conserve and market diverse crops.


Nepal: Participatory analysis of agrobiodiversity

While the government of Nepal is promoting improved and hybrid seeds, in 1998 the Nepalese NGO Local Initiatives for Biodiversity Research and Development (LI-BIRD) developed a method called “Participatory Four Cell analysis”, which enables communities to assess the status of their agricultural biodiversity. It visualises the amount of crop diversity available in a community and the varieties that might be at risk of being lost.

The four cell analysis consists of a matrix, with one axis mapping the number of farmers planting a specified variety and the other the size of the area in which the crop is grown. This method has gained worldwide recognition. It provides a basis for communities to manage their biodiversity, including seed production, expansion of areas planted with local varieties, breed purification, and processing and marketing of traditional and local food items.

LI-BIRD has worked with over 11,000 farming households across Nepal, who are now managing their agrobiodiversity better as a result. This generates social, economic and environmental benefits. For example, local aromatic rice varieties such as Tilki and Kalonuniya were about to disappear, but thanks to community seed selection and enhancement, they have become commonly grown varieties and people are now selling them at premium prices.

For more information contact Pitambar Shrestha or Sajal Sthapit at Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD).
Visit www.libird.org or e-mail: pitambar@libird.org or ssthapit@libird.org


Zimbabwe: The diversity wheel in motion

Diversity Wheel during the community seed fair in Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe (UMP) district. Photo: R. Alcadi (IFAD)
In Zimbabwe, support from IFAD, Oxfam Novib and its partners has encouraged farmers and NGOs to build on the experience of LIBIRD in Nepal (see above). Community seed fairs are a valuable opportunity to exchange seeds and knowledge, and to take stock of the status of biodiversity in their communities. One way to do this is by using the “Diversity Wheel”, originating from the Four Cell Analysis in Nepal and further developed by the Zimbabwean Community Technology Development Trust.

At a seed fair, a facilitator picks up one seed variety and ask the farmers present, “How many of you are growing this variety?” and “Is this variety grown on a large or small area of land?” A fifth cell was added to the original tool, referring to varieties that a community lost. This prompts farmers to discuss why certain varieties are no longer being grown, or why they value a specific variety. It leads them to reflect on how to pro-actively ensure the conservation of varieties at risk.

Once all the crops that farmers grow are placed on the Diversity Wheel the farmers find it easy to visualise how their food security and diet composition is evolving. The Diversity Wheel is a story of partnerships, where good ideas build on each other and travel across continents. It is also an example of a tool that puts the farmers firmly in the driver’s seat.

For more information contact Rima Alcadi and Shantanu Mathur at the Strategy and Knowledge Department of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Visit www.ifad.org or e-mail: r.alcadi@ifad.org


Mozambique: The Maputo Earth Market

The Maputo Earth Market proves that markets and agrobiodiversity can support each other. Like its counterparts in Austria, India and the United States, Africa’s first Earth Market taps from the rich, but often hidden, potential of local ecosystems and cultures. Traditional leafy vegetables, fruits, street food, fresh vegetables, liquors, jams and more are on display. In contrast to other urban market places, all the products are local, seasonal, organic or artisanal and all stalls are manned by small-scale family farmers.

Farmers appreciate the market as it enables them to bypass intermediaries and sell their produce directly to consumers. Having a diverse range of seasonal and traditional vegetables and other foods is also valued by consumers. This encourages family farmers to plant a diversity of crops on their farm and maintain local varieties. The market is not merely a purchase point. It is also a meeting place for farmers and consumers.

Farmers eagerly talk about how they cultivate their crops. They explain how traditional foods are prepared or delve into the nutritious value of certain foods. In this way local food cultures are shared and maintained. The Maputo Earth Market is a collective effort for food sovereignty, introduced by Slow food, its local chapter Muteko Waho, Gruppo di Volontariato Civile, and the National Union of Mozambican Farmers.

For more information contact Velia Lucidi at Slow Food International.
E-mail: v.lucuiedi@slowfood.it


Chile: Certified biodiverse communities

In the Chiloé archipelago, located in the south of Chile, traditional agro-ecological production systems host a wide range of biodiversity and indigenous cultural cultivation practices. Communities have cultivated many different varieties of potato for generations, offering a range of adaptations to different socio-ecological conditions. The farming communities, the Centro de Educación y Tecnología and other institutions and organisations joined forces to get Chiloé recognised as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) site by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

In order to achieve tangible benefits from this label, the communities registered a brand called “Chiloé”, based on this GIAHS recognition, to certify products on the basis of their geographical origin. This brand then certifies that the products were cultivated in highly diverse agro-ecosystems, where indigenous agricultural practices play an important role. It does not focus so much on the produce itself, but emphasises regional recovery and resilience. Farmers benefi t economically by selling their milk, cheese, native potatoes and fruits in the local market under this name, but are also developing rural tourism services.

The experience in Chiloé demonstrates that a certification that builds on the biocultural heritage of rural communities can generate clear benefits, both economically and in terms of self-worth and recognition. The process promotes and enhances the communities’ ancestral outlook on the conservation and use of biodiversity, particularly of their ancient potato varieties.

For more information contact Carlos Venegas, Director of the Centro de Educación y Tecnología (CET) in Chiloé.
E-mail: cetchiloe@gmail.com
A longer version of this article has been published in Spanish in LEISA Revista de Agroecología 29-4.