The Conservation of Crops in Our Own Hands: Community-Based Agrobiodiversity Management Revisited

Dear Colleagues,

For centuries, farmers and their communities have been the custodians of agrobiodiversity, and in many regions of the world continue to play this very important role, which is crucial to achieving seed and food security. In many countries, rural women have been and continue to be at the forefront of the conservation of the world’s crops. However, in recent times, local efforts—both individual and collective—to conserve agrobiodiversity have been affected by societal, environmental, and climate changes, e.g., modernization and commoditization of agriculture, rural to urban migration, diminishing interest of youth in farm work, degradation of the natural resource base, and increased incidence of extreme weather events.

To support farmers and communities to deal with these challenges, about a decade ago, researchers and development agents piloted a new methodology—community-based biodiversity management. This methodology aimed to contribute to the in situ and on-farm conservation of plant genetic resources (or agrobiodiversity more broadly), the practical implementation of farmers’ rights, and the enhancement of the capacities of farming communities to strengthen their resilience in the face of changing socio-economic and environmental conditions. At the heart of the methodology is the empowerment of local communities through increased decision-making power over access to, use, and management of the biological and genetic resources needed for sustainable agricultural development.

After about a decade of practical experience, the purpose of this Special Issue is to revisit the community-based biodiversity management methodology through a review of successful cases and challenges encountered in relation to local forms of collective action and empowerment in rural areas that contribute to the sustainable conservation and management of agrobiodiversity. Of particular interest are cases that have used novel tools and methods (e.g., to increase awareness or set priorities), technologies (e.g., to add value or for marketing), partnerships, and networks (e.g., to connect producers to consumers or for policy advocacy and reform). We question what can be learned from practice to inform and improve the conceptual and methodological underpinning of community-based diversity management? Cases from the global north and south are welcome. 

Since the publication of the book ‘Community Biodiversity Management: Promoting Resilience and the Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources,’ no major review publication has been produced, although the series ‘Issues in Agricultural Biodiversity’ (Routledge), of which the book is a part, has paid attention to several components of the methodology, e.g., the roles of community seed banks and school gardens. This Special Issue could well be the basis for a second volume on community-based diversity management.

References:

de Boef, W.S.; Subedi, A.; Peroni, N.; Thijssen, M.; O’Keeffe, E. (Eds.). Community Biodiversity Management: Promoting Resilience and the Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources. Routledge: Oxon, UK, 2013.

Hunter, D.; Monville-Oro, E.; Burgos, B.; Rogel, C.N.; Calub, B.; Gonsalves, J.; Lauridsen, N. (Eds.). Agrobiodiversity, School Gardens and Healthy Diets. Routledge: Oxon, UK, 2020.

Vernooy, R.; Shrestha, P. and Sthapit, B. (Eds.). Community Seed Banks: Origins, Evolution and Prospects. Routledge: Oxon, UK, 2015.

Dr. Ronnie Vernooy
Dr. Yiching Song
Guest Editors

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• Agrobiodiversity, adaptation, and resilience
• Bio-cultural (heritage) community protocols and agreements
• Complementarity with ex situ conservation
• Community biodiversity management
• Community seed banks, centers, houses, huts, libraries, and reserves
• Community-supported agriculture
• Fair and equitable access to and benefit-sharing of genetic resources
• Farmers’ rights
• Innovations (methodological, organizational, technological)
• In situ and on-farm conservation
• Seed custodians and custodians of agrobiodiversity.