Plant Genetic Resource Preservation and Organic Agriculture

Today the vast majority of countries have recognized the need for appropriate conservation strategies to protect cultivated and traditional PGR, wild relatives, ecosystems, and the traditional knowledge associated with them. The threat to biological diversity was among the key topics discussed at the UN World Summit for Sustainable Development in 2002, with participants united in their hope to a Global Conservation Trust to help maintain plant collections. The conservation of biological diversity has become a global concern.

In situ conservation is considered the most desirable conservation strategy but sometimes it cannot be done. The destruction of rare or endangered species' habitats also requires ex situ conservation. Some believe both types of conservation are required to ensure sound preservation.

Both methods of preservation should ensure the perpetuity and guarantee the quality of a large gene pool, not just of “useful” genes but also including highly diversified resources that are capable of providing for future needs we know absolutely nothing about.

3.1 Ex situ Preservation Including Seed Banks

The response of the international community to the loss of biodiversity has been the establishment of seed banks. According to the FAO, in 2002 there were about 1,300 banks containing around six million (plant accession) acquisitions from around the world. However, this amount represents a small fraction of seed biodiversity and many important regions have been overlooked on collecting expeditions (FAO 2009).

An example of a global ex situ conservation effort is the so-called “Doomsday Vault” opened on 26 February 2008 and carved into the permafrost of a mountain in Norway's remote Svalbard archipelago near the North Pole. It was planned with the climate change factor taken into consideration and will be frozen 200 years from now. This top-security repository was designed to protect and preserve samples of valuable seeds and is aimed at providing humankind with food in case of a global catastrophe. The vault can store more than four million batches of seeds from all known varieties of the planet's crops. The hope is that the vault will make it possible to re-establish crops that are endangered or obliterated by major disasters. The seeds will be maintained at a temperature of minus 18°C. Each box will contain about 400 samples in envelopes made of polyethylene and each sample will contain around 500 seeds.

There are serious drawbacks to this approach for conserving biodiversity. Varieties stored in seed banks are small-sized populations adapted to the conditions of cold storage and could become extinct if they are not regularly sown and replanted outside to generate viable seeds. For example, the most important wheat collection in Asia (held at the University of Kyoto) grows only five plants per variety for regeneration. Stored varieties become very uniform and adapted to the artificial environment of cold storage. Small samples of seeds collected and stored in such way could actually result in the continual depletion of variability and adaptability. They are more prone to extinction than large populations as they are more sensitive to genetic drift due to the random variation in their gene pool resulting from their limited genetic base. Each plant has many unique genes (resistant to diseases, drought, flood or high or low temperatures) which are lost when the plant dies without getting the chance to breed naturally and produce offspring.

So, one wonders if 500 seeds per sample will be enough to avoid genetic drift. Could those seeds adapt to their new environment once removed out of the seed bank 200 years from now?

There is also a serious lack of contextual knowledge about the material stored in seed banks. Without information about the farming systems in which these crops were grown and the planting rotations they formed, these varieties cannot be of use to future farmers.

So seed banks' effectiveness could be limited due to genetic drift of small-sized populations and limited adaptability to future environments as well as the lack of capacity by national agricultural research centers and universities to reproduce or multiply seeds regularly on a sufficient scale to preserve variability and adaptability.

3.2 In Situ Preservation

In contrast to ex situ conservation, in situ conservation permits populations of plant species to be maintained in their natural or agricultural habitat, allowing the evolutionary processes that shaped genetic diversity and the adaptability of plant populations to continue to operate (Frankel and Soule 1991).

In situ conservation includes (i) specific conservation measures for crop wild relatives and wild food plants, particularly in protected areas, and (ii) conservation and sustainable utilization of landraces or traditional crop varieties on-farm and in home gardens. Details about these two approaches are discussed below.

3.2.1 Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources in Protected Areas

Worldwide, protected areas number 9,800 and cover approximately 926 million hectares of the earth's surface (International Union for Conservation of Nature 1999).

Among them, Turkey has initiated a project to conserve, in situ, crop-related wild relatives of cereals, medicinal plants and forest trees with support from the Global Environment Facility. The project will also serve to develop and implement a national strategy for in situ conservation, and test and develop new approaches in wild crop species biodiversity conservation.

Israel has conducted pioneering research on in situ conservation strategies for wild emmer wheat. Based on the concept of “dynamic gene preservation” of interacting populations in the wild, the plants continue to interbreed, forming new genetic combinations, but the genes themselves are, for the most part, preserved as long as the overall system stays in equilibrium.

However, these examples are rare despite the importance of wild and semi-wild food plants to the livelihood of many poor communities. Moreover, many problems exist in “protected areas.” including inadequate knowledge of the distribution of wild relatives, a lack of clear research priorities and methodologies and insufficient management tools for ensuring minimum viable population sizes of target species.

As a result, PGR conservation in protected areas is not really safe unless special measures are taken to ensure the active participation and involvement of local communities in the selection, establishment and management of such areas. Most importantly, since the approach requires large amounts of public funding, continued political support to necessary to sustain long-term conservation.

3.2.2 On-Farm Conservation

Conservation by farmers of landraces and traditional crop varieties differs in important respects from in situ conservation of wild material in protected areas. A landrace has generally been selected to suit the environment in which it is cultivated and to satisfy the particular needs of its growers, such as flavor and cooking qualities. Through the particular case of on-farm conservation, landraces continue to evolve, influenced by natural selection as well as by the farmer-induced selection processes, thus providing opportunities for continuous crop adaptation and improvement.

The biological features of different types of crops influenced smallholder farmers' ability to experiment with local plant genetic resources and to maintain landraces. While it is relatively easy for them to maintain a landrace population of a self-pollinated crop such as rice, it is more demanding to maintain a landrace population of a cross-pollinating crop such as maize. However, although there may often be continued gene introgression with wild relatives in the vicinity, landraces are safeguarded and constantly developing through farmer selection. On-farm conservation, which is a dynamic form of PGR management, offers many opportunities to combine genetic diversity conservation with agricultural development.

Although there are few instances of formal on-farm conservation, smallholder farmers around the world continue to cultivate local varieties whose taste, cooking quality, and storage characteristics of traditional varieties are preferred over the improved varieties. According to the Plant Genetic Resources Center of Ethiopia, Ethiopia is probably the country with the most advanced program of on-farm conservation of landraces to maintain crop diversity and the production of food for local consumption and local markets. In most parts of the world, many of the traditional diversity-based farming systems are disappearing. Landraces and local varieties persist but many are in isolated and marginal areas.

Home gardens also constitute a valuable part of a PGR in situ conservation system, but their importance in genetic resource conservation is still not widely recognized and few inventories have been carried out.

3.2.2.1 Capacity of Smallholder Farmers and Communities to Manage Plant Genetic Resource Preservation

The main factors that strongly favor the involvement of smallholder farmers in PGR preservation are: (i) the level of exposure to external influence such as agricultural modernization or other socioeconomic changes, and (ii) the indigenous knowledge of landraces and their technical skills.

(i) Exposure to external influence

Local capacity for PGR preservation can vary greatly between different geographical locations. Communities located in centers of plant genetic diversity that have managed local PGR for centuries more or less uninfluenced by outside developments, have a high capacity to manage PGR.

(ii) Indigenous knowledge

Smallholder farmers are usually located in remote areas, far from genetic pollution and their knowledge on traditional varieties and landraces is extensive and could thus contribute greatly to their safeguard. Many examples of valuable information relating to plant genetic resources exists within local and indigenous knowledge systems in many parts of the world (Warren, Slikkerveer, and Titilola 1989). This knowledge ranges from traditional uses of plants to strategies for the management and conservation of landraces, differences among landraces in their resistance to pests and knowledge of pests and pest control methods, traditional selection and breeding methods, environmental monitoring and early warning systems for ecological change (Altieri 1993; Box 1998).

Local people have knowledge not only of the distribution of particular wild plants but may also have ‘sanctuaries' of high diversity which are often actively protected by the communities as sacred groves that function as both spiritual centers and biodiversity and food security insurance for surrounding communities (Raishankar et al. 1994; Chambers 1999).

An understanding of local seed production and exchange systems can help to characterize the origin, genetic base and degree of adaptation of germplasm (Cromwell 1990). Folk classifications often correspond to scientific classifications, at both the interspecific and intraspecific levels (Berlin 1992; Berlin, Breedlove, and Raven 1974; Alcorn 1984; Quiros et al. 1990). There are also numerous cases of the names of landraces reflecting not just appearance but intrinsic qualities such as cooking characteristics (Boster 1984).

Evidence also shows that farmers can evaluate varieties for desirable characteristics. For instance, farmers in Kordofan (Sudan) associate sorghum varieties with the type of soil in which they grow best (Oughenor and Nazhat 1985). Farmers in Lao PDR know which of the local varieties are more suitable for a dry year with a short growing season. There is evidence that farmers are aware of differences among landraces in their resistance to pests, and that they have considerable knowledge of the biology of pests and pest control methods (Altieri 1993).

The keepers of much of this knowledge are often the elders in rural communities. However, due to increasingly rapid cultural change and mass rural to urban migration in the latter half of this century, there is a danger that such knowledge and useful practices may not be passed on to younger generations and could be lost forever.

The capacity to manage PGR also varies considerably within communities and depends on the ethnic group, social status, gender relations and age of the farmer. Different social groups of farmers within a community may use different varieties of the same crop, adapted to optimize performance under each individual farmer's respective resource constraints.

The traditional knowledge and practical skills which accompany farmer selection are fundamental to on-farm management to improve and preserve PGR. The recognition, documentation and use of indigenous knowledge are very important to the safeguarding and utilization of PGR for food and agriculture.

3.3 Partnerships Between Farmers to Preserve Plant Genetic Resources and the Public Sector

PGR diversity is generally agreed upon as global public good. Therefore, policies and regulations which promote sustainable on-farm conservation of crops must be considered at international and national levels.

3.3.1 At the International Level

The Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture entered into force in June 2004 recognizes the rights of farmers involved in the preservation of PGR diversity. The Treaty aims at:

• recognizing the enormous contribution of farmers to the diversity of crops that feed the world;
• establishing a global system to provide farmers, plant breeders and scientists with access to plant genetic materials; and
• ensuring that recipients share benefits they derive from the use of these genetic materials with the countries where they have been originated.

Article 9.2 of the Treaty reads:

9.2 The Contracting Parties agree that the responsibility for realizing Farmers' Rights, as they relate to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, rests with national governments. In accordance with their needs and priorities, each Contracting Party should, as appropriate, and subject to its national legislation, take measures to protect and promote Farmers' Rights including:

1. Protection of traditional knowledge relevant to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture;
2. The right to equitably participate in sharing benefits arising from the utilization of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture; and
3. The right to participate in making decisions, at the national level, on matters related to the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.(FAO 2009)

The Treaty leaves government with the responsibility of measures to bolster PGR farmers. However the Treaty makes provision for financial resources provided by developed countries to support priority activities plans and programs for conservation and sustainable use of PGR.

3.3.2 At the National Level

Government should support farmers involved in PGR preservation through cooperation with research institutes and by sponsoring relevant legislation and regulation.

(i) Collaboration with Research Institutes

Inventories of ecosystems must be carried out in collaboration with farmers to identify sites where specific species can be conserved in situ. Comprehensive inventories of existing diversity that is being conserved by smallholder farmers can assess the total diversity of particular species and thus permit the establishment of priorities for conservation. They also help to identify and avoid duplication and redundancy of traditional varieties and landraces and instead promote the preservation of abundant biodiversity.

Research institutes can support farmers especially in preserving and maintaining landraces and traditional varieties. Farmers actively select varieties on the basis of phenotypic characteristics (easy to observe visually), rather than the associated genotype characteristics used in scientific plant breeding. Cooperation may be needed to improve the farmers' ability to select for increased yield and other characteristics that they desire. One example is the work of the Biodiversity Institute in Ethiopia which screens local landraces of sorghum for drought tolerance and returns the most drought-tolerant varieties to farmers.

Further work in collaboration with farmers is needed with regard to the development of protocols for conservation of wild relatives with a special focus on on-farm conservation and studies of farmer management of PGR (meeting the minimal quantity required to maintain a large genetic base of PGR). Farmers can assist research centers in the development of breeding objectives, in germplasm characterization, conservation and evaluation and in testing the capacity of varieties to germinate and produce seeds.

(ii) Legislation / regulation

There is a need for in situ conservation programs to be integrated with national development plans and policies. There is also a need to review and adapt agricultural development policies and regulatory frameworks for variety release and seed certification to understand their impact on PGR.

Governments should introduce specific legislative, regulatory, and financial measures for encouraging the local production, storage, and marketing of landraces and varieties that are naturally adapted to the local and regional conditions.

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