USING DIVERSITY ENHANCING AND MAINTAINING GENETIC RESOURCES ON-FARM Proceedings of a workshop he/don 19-21 June 1995 New Delhi, India Edited by Louise Sperling and Michael Loevinsohn IDRC CRDI CANADA International Development Research Centre Photo credit: back cover photo by A.B. Chitnis of ICRISAT ISBN: 81-900654-0-8 International Development Research Centre Regional Office for South Asia 17 Jor Bagh New Delhi 110003 INDIA USING DIVERSITY ENHANCING AND MAINTAINING GENETIC RESOURCES ON-FARM Proceedings of a workshop held on 19-21 June 1995 New Delhi, India Edited by Louise Sperling and Michael Loevinsohn IDRC CRDI CANADA International Development Research Centre © INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH CENTRE 1996 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher (IDRC). ISBN: 81-900654-0-8 Designed and produced by Scenario Pub lications (India), A-61, Sector 19, Noida 201 301, INDIA Tel: 8532775 PREFACE A productive and stable agriculture requires genetic diversity, on-farm. Diverse varieties enable farmers to fit their cropping systems to varied and difficult conditions, to enhance the food security of their households and to exploit a range of plant products. But resent decades have witnessed first the erosion of that diversity in many areas with the spread of intensive, commercially-oriented production, then a growing reaFization, both in farming communities and in key institutions, that a resource of tremendous value is at risk of being lost. It is also increasingly realized that genebanks, far from the fields, can only imperfectly preserve that resource. From l9to 21 June 1995, the Using Diversity workshop explored the scope formaintaining and enhancing plant genetic resources in farmers' fields by better meeting their needs for diversity, particularly in South Asia. Sponsored and organized by the International Development Research Centre, the workshop brought together three groups that, in principle, share a common interest in diversity and farmers' use of it: breeders employing participatory approaches to crop improvement; grassroots organizations working with farming communities on the conservation and diffusion of local varieties; and scientists trying to understand the dynamics of diversity and the forces that drive it. These groups, however, do not often meet. The workshop provided a unique opportunity, therefore, to exchange varied experiences from the field and to explore possibilities for convergence among the different perspectives and collaboration among those working in different organizations. Forty-five people, from Bangladesh, India and Nepal participated in the workshop, along with resource persons from Norway, the Philippines, and Zimbabwe. In editing the papers and discussions, we have tried to respect participants' characteristic styles and vocabularies, intervening only in the interest of clarity. We would like to extend our warm thanks to Mrs. Jayanthi Balakrishnan who took charge of the logistic arrangements, to Mr. S.N. Singh for his tireless help with communications, and to Drs. Aung Gyi, Joachim Voss and other colleagues in IDRC's Delhi and Ottawa offices fortheirsupport and encouragement. But in particular, we thank the workshop participants who, with tolerance and good humor, gave life to the meeting's objectives and made the experience, as many said, both stimulating and revealing. A special note is necessary regarding the use of the word "tribal". While the term may carry negative connotations in many parts of the world, it is used in India to describe the 54 million people who are classed as "indigenous" and who fall outside the caste system. Additional copies of these proceedings can be obtained by contacting: International Development Research Centre, 17 Jor Bagh, New Delhi 110 003, India. Tel: (91-11) 461-9411; fax: (91-11) 462-2707; e-mail: postmast @ idrc.ernet.in. Louise Sperling Michael Loevinsohn CONTENTS Preface INTRODUCTION Joining dynamic conservation to decentralized genetic enhancement: 1 prospects and issues - M. Loevinsohn and L. Sperling UNDERSTANDING FARMER SEED AND VARIETY SYSTEMS On-farm conservation as a process: an analysis of its components 9 - M. R. Be/Ion On-farm genetic diversity in wet-tropical Kerala - V. Santhakumar 23 What does in situ conservation mean in the life of a small-scale farmer? 35 Examples from Zimbabwe's communal areas - S. van Oosterhout Discussion 53 Diversity of rice cultivars in a rainfed village in the Orissa State of India 55 - K. G. Kshirsagar and S. Pandey Documentation of local crop varieties evolving a participatory methodology 66 - R. Tiwari and A. Das Contributions of tribal communities in the conservation of traditional cultivars 78 - T. Ravishankar and V. Se/yam Discussion 84 PARTICIPATORY BREEDING AND SELECTION: DECENTRALIZATION WITH GREATER USER INVOLVEMENT The impact of farmer participatory research on biodiversity of crops 87 - J.R. Witcombe and A. Josh! Results, methods and institutional issues in participatory selection: 102 the case of beans in Rwanda - L. Sperfing and U. Scheidegger Devolution of plant breeding - T. Berg 116 Discussion 124 Rebuilding the genetic resource base through farmer-scientist-activist 275 alliance - c3.N. Reddi Discussion 278 Towards setting up a community seedbank - experience from 281 Chengam, Tamil Nadu - K. Vijayalakshmf and A. Nambi Community-based resource management: CONSERVE (Philippines) 289 experience - F.A. Magnifico Conserving agricultural biodiversity: the case of Tehri Garhwal and 302 implications for national policy - V. Jardhari and A. Kothari Maintenance and conservation of 'heirloom' varieties in Indian 309 ag ro-ecosystems - J. K. Maheshwari Discussion 318 INSTITUTIONAL REFLECTIONS A role for ICRISAT in enhancing and maintaining genetic resources 322 on-farm - J. Lenné, E. We!tzien R. and J. Stenhouse Discussion 327 APPENDICES List of participants 331 Authors not in attendance 334 INTRODUCTION JOINING DYNAMIC CONSERVATION TO DECENTRALIZED GENETIC ENHANCEMENT PROSPECTS AND ISSUES M. Loevinsohn and L. Sperling ABSTRACT The erosion of South Asia's rich heritage of landraces has been paralleled by the erosion of farmer skills and community processes which created that diversity in the first place. This workshop brings together different groups with a shared, practical concern with the loss of both genetic resources and local control, with a view to exploring the common ground. Presentations cluster around three themes: (I) Diagnosis of varietal diversity. Key here are understanding, in particular situations, the forces that create and degrade diversity; differences among individuals and groups in knowledge and skills; and the efficacy of farmer-to-farmer and other seed diffusion channels. Diagnosis aims at identifying opportunities for useful inte,ventions, primarily in the following areas. (ii) Decentralized breeding and selection. Methods that involve farmers in the early decisions of what to retain or discard are being used to develop varieties of several crops that are adapted to local conditions, meet diverse preferences and that, as a set, are often more productive than what emerges from conventional processes. Farmers' selections should, in principle, enhance diversity on-farm, but evidence on this important point is still scarce. (iii) Seedbanking and seed supply. In various South Asian environments, community-based initiatives are attempting to provide farmers continued and secure access to diverse seeds. On- farm testing of varieties is frequently a feature, as is small-scale seedmultiplication that enlarges livelihood options, particularly for women. Initiatives also frequently aim at enhancing farmers' skills in managing genetic and other resources. A number of opportunities are evident for increasing the scope and impact of field-based initiatives. Many of these will require collaboration between groups and institutions that, up to now, have not worked together. These include: making farmer-bred varieties from similar agroecosystems over a wider area available to farmers' selection; where feasible, genetically improving local landraces to overcome specific deficiencies; and creating functional links between local seed and formal genebanks to enhance seed security and improve the banks' efficiency. INTRODUCTION The Using Diversity meeting brings together people with different perspectives on the use of and prospects for the diverse crop genetic resources of South Asia. Three principal viewpoints can be distinguished. First, there are those who are working to stem the erosion of landraces from the region's farms. Others seek to enhance and improve varieties so as to better meet farmers' 2 Using Diversity productive needs. Finally, there are researchers who are attempting to understand the processes and trends of agricultural change, of which genetic erosion has been a principal component. To a large extent in the world outside, and even more sharply at this meeting, these perspectives are segregated by institution. Distinct camps have emerged around on-farm conservation and genetic improvement and enhancement, in which different issues are given priority and different vocabularies favored. In the sessions that follow over the next three days, it is striking that only one non-governmental organization (NGO) representative will speak on breeding and selection, while