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DIVERSITY OF EXPERIENCESunderstanding change in cropand seed diversityA review of selected LinKS studies

Gender, Equity and Rural Employment DivisionFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Rome, 2008

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Copyright and disclaimer

This report is based upon experiences and data rom the FAO-LinKS project. Sabine Guendel, asenior scientist, compiled the key fndings rom the LinKS studies with other literature resources.Tom Osborn rom the FAO Seed and Plant Genetic Resources Service provided extensive comments.Regina Laub rom the FAO Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division provided technical inputand guidance, and supervised the production o the report. Allison Loconto and Brett Shapiro,consultants, edited the report.

All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination o material in this in ormation product oreducational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission

rom the copyright holders provided the source is ully acknowledged. Reproduction o materialin this in ormation product or resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without writtenpermission o the copyright holders. Applications or such permission should be addressed to theChie , Electronic Publishing Policy and Support Branch, Communication Division, FAO, Viale delleTerme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy or by e-mail to copyright@ ao.org FAO 2008

The designations employed and the presentation o material in this in ormation product do not implythe expression o any opinion whatsoever on the part o the Food and Agriculture Organization o the United Nations concerning the legal or development status o any country, territory, city or areaor o its authorities, or concerning the delimitation o its rontiers or boundaries.

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Table ofcontents

Glossary of acronyms................................................................................................... v

Introduction ................................................................................................................1

1 Seed diversity of crops and varieties ...........................................................................21.1 Seed diversity and ood security .............................................................................31.2 Socio-economic and gender di erences in seed diversity ...........................................41.3 Seed diversity and local knowledge.........................................................................51.4 What we have learned so ar .................................................................................. 7

2 Understanding seed systems ....................................................................................92.1 Local seed systems ..............................................................................................92.2 Formal seed systems ......................................................................................... 112.3 Interactions between the local and the ormal seed system ...................................... 122.4 What we have learned so ar ............................................................................... 13

3 The main drivers for change in crop diversity .............................................................153.1 Impact o improved crops and varieties ................................................................. 163.2 Increased Climate Variability ................................................................................ 16

3.3 The impact o HIV/AIDS on seed diversity and ood security .................................... 173.4 What we have learned so ar ............................................................................... 18

4 Implications for future development interventions .......................................................204.1 Key messages .................................................................................................... 204.2 Suggestions or implementation ............................................................................ 23

References ...............................................................................................................25

Annex 1 Project background information ..................................................................28

Annex 2 Consolidated Checklist ...............................................................................30

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Glossaryof acronyms

CGN Centre or Genetic Resources in the Netherlands

DFID UK Department or International Development

GFU Global Facilitation Unit on Under Utilized and Orphan Species

GTZ Deutsche Gesellscha t r Technische Zusammenarbeit

ICRISTAT International Crops Research Institute or the Semi-Arid Tropics

IFAD International Fund or Agricultural Development

IPCC International Panel on Climate Change

IPGRI International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (now Bioversity)

LinKS project Gender, Biodiversity and Local Knowledge Systems or Food Security

in Southern A rica

MDG Millennium Development Goal

M&E Monitoring and Evaluation

MSSRF Center or Research on Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development

M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

NGO Non-Governmental OrganizationPGRFA Plant Genetic Resources or Food and Agriculture

PPB Participatory Plant Breeding

QDS Quality Declared Seed

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Introduction

The FAO LinKS project (Gender, Biodiversity and Local Knowledge Systems or Food Security inSouthern A rica) objective was to improve rural peoples ood security and promote the sustainablemanagement o agro-biodiversity by encouraging institutions to recognize armers knowledge intheir programmes and policies.

The LinKS project, which ended in 2006, was a seven-year regional project implemented inMozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. One o the main activities o the project was to

increase the visibility o men and womens knowledge o agro-biodiversity management or oodsecurity. 1 The second phase o the LinKS project included several studies on local seed management,gender roles and local knowledge systems in Mozambique and Tanzania. These projects were inresponse to the increased recognition o the importance o seed management and seed security or

ood security. 2

Since most studies on local seed systems have been conducted only within the last ten years,(Sperling 2003), the LinKS study fndings can contribute to an improved understanding o thecomplex relationships between seed management, agro-biodiversity, gender, local knowledge and

ood security.

The objective o this report is to place the fndings rom Mozambique and Tanzania into a broadercontext. In ormation rom a variety o sources was used to identi y key aspects that need to beaddressed in uture seed management interventions. Furthermore, the report aims to provide ananalytical ramework or decision makers and development practitioners to better understandhow seed systems unction and to identi y ways in which these systems can be supported andstrengthened.

1 For urther in ormation visit the LinKS website: http://www. ao.org/sd/links/

2 For urther details on these projects please re er to Annex I