CIFOR Forests News Blog asks “are we becoming too dependent on the same crops” and reports on comments made by scientists at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Jeju, South Korea this week.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation FAO) between 20 and 30 crops currently feed the world and 60 per cent of our plant-based calorie intake comes from just rice, wheat and maize.
Scientists at the Congress discussed how the world seems to have become focused on mainstream agriculture and all but ignored traditional vegetables or grains.
Stefano Padulosi, senior scientist with Bioversity International, says “with climate change putting increasing strain on our food systems, diversity of our food crops will be critical for resilient food systems”.
The importance of maintaining genetic material from wild relatives has proven invaluable in overcoming crop diseases in the past yet little has been done to document and monitor the biodiversity of cultivated crop species. Now a project is underway with communities in Nepal, India and Bolivia to develop a Red list of cultivated species. Communities have identified different crop and tree species and outlined how these species are being used in their cultural context and how widespread their cultivation is.
The project is being supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the CGIAR Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Programme, of which the World Agroforestry Centre is a partner. Researchers and policymakers will be able to ‘raise the red flag’ whenever a decline in use of a variety goes below a certain level.
The Forests News blog goes on to discuss how agricultural subsidies are largely directed towards large-scale and industrial agriculture ahead of small-scale farmers. These subsidies end up supporting a limited number of crops not small-scale sustainable agriculture which is more ecologically sustainable and promotes greater social equity.
Read the full story: The world’s shrinking food basket: why it is critical we increase crop diversity
