Agricultural biodiversity - an essential asset for the success and resilience of family farming

Bioversity International/ P. Lepoint

Agricultural Biodiversity: an essential asset for the success and resilience of family farmingPablo Eyzaguirre, Stephan Weise, Ann Tutwiler 27 October 2014

Agricultural Biodiversity - A key asset for family farmers

Two main assets that family farmers have are agrobiodiversity and the gendered knowledge of the ecosystem in which their farms are embedded.

Banana is a staple food of Ugandan family farmers as well as a multi-purpose cash crop. They safeguard the greatest diversity in banana cultivars.

Bioversity International/P. De Santis

Burundi Tanzania

Bioversity International/ P. Lepoint

KU Leuven/ R. Swennen

Family Farmers grow commodity cash crops and other food crops in a system that maintains biodiversity

Biov

ersit

y In

tern

atio

nal\F

. van

Oud

enho

ven

Bioversity International\R. Markham

Worldwide, 5 to 6 million family cocoa farms produce approximately 90% of the world’s cocoa on farms with only 2 to 5 hectares providing a direct cash livelihood for 50 million people.

(ICCO, 2011, WCF, Cocoa Facts and Figures 2012)

Family farms producing cocoa maintain vast amounts of associated biodiversity in cocoa stands. A study in Cameroon found that the average cocoa farm comprises 308 associated non-cocoa trees/ha. (Sonwa et al., 2009)

Ghana

Bioversity International/J. Raneri Bioversity International/J. Raneri

Colombia

Bioversity International/X Schelderman

In West Africa, Tropical America and the Caribbean, many studies have confirmed the significant amount of biodiversity such as pollinators, honeybees, migratory birds, soil biota that is safeguarded on these farms supporting long term productivity as well healthy ecosystems.

Costa Rica

• Bioversity International\C. Zanzanaini

Document family farm systems:

• What FF produce, the range of plant and animal products they produce including varieties and breeds

• How much FF contribute to the total food and nutrition security in their respective countries

• How FF stock of gendered knowledge, agrobiodiversity and management practices drives endogenous innovation and confers resilience in the face of changing environments and shocks.

• What innovations in family farming can be supported and upscaled.

Actions being undertaken at Bioversity International:

1. Support market institutions and channels that capture unique value of diverse FF products e.g. varieties, agroecological production, nutritional and cultural value.

2. Support innovations based on family farmers’ knowledge and link them to national research and extension services, agricultural and environment policies and Sustainable Development Goals.

IYFF places family farmers at the centre of sustainable production and the safeguarding of biodiversity and famer knowledge

www.bioversityinternational.org

Thank you