This chapter addresses the role of indigenous knowledge (IK) and practices in the conservation of agricultural biodiversity. In the context of Andean communities in southern Peru, it is argued that negotiations between these local communities and conservation bodies need to give as much weight to...

This chapter reviews the potential impacts of climate change on on-farm conservation of crop diversity and on the contribution that on-farm conservation can make to agricultural adaptation to climate change, and ask two questions: (1) How might climate change affect the viability of on-farm...

This chapter briefly reviews the history of conservation of crop genetic resources and discusses recent developments in both ex situ and in situ conservation of crop biodiversity, especially in relation to policy. It considers the impacts of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the...

In agricultural systems, diversity of crops and varieties is essential to combat the risks farmers face from pests, diseases and variations in climate. Crop biodiversity also underpins the range of dietary needs and services that consumers demand. There is growing concern, however, about declining...

On-farm suppliers of crop genetic resources, farmers, in contrast toplant breeders, also use them as planting material - a reproducible production input. These farmers are different in some respects from those working in fully commercialized agriculture in industrialized economies. Many reside in...

In this chapter, using household data on potato producers in Cajamarca, Peru, the relationship between rural development and potato diversity is examined. Much of the debate on in situ on-farm conservation of crop genetic resources has focused narrowly on the effect of the introduction of modern...

Farmers’ choices, given the constraints they face, determine whether or not genetic resources of value to society for future crop improvement continue to be grown on farms. Plant breeders also influence crop biodiversity on farms through the supply of new genetic materials they develop. Using a...

This chapter applies a stated preference approach to analyse the management of maize landraces in the Sierra Norte de Puebla, Mexico. Mexico is a centre of origin and diversity for maize. A method is proposed to assess farmer response to changes in income and price expectations associated with the...

This chapter compares factors explaining the inter- (interspecific) and intracrop (infraspecific diversity) of cereals grown by villages in Peasant Associations (PAs) of the northern Ethiopian highlands of Amhara and Tigray, building on the household-level analysis presented for the same sites in...

This chapter uses a household model similar to those used in Part III of this book to analyse the relationship between seed supply and intercrop diversity (between crop species) on household farms, based on an assessment of the impact of a seed supply intervention at the household level in...