Agricultural Biodiversity

"Biodiversity" refers to the vast array of living organisms that exist on our planet and the interconnections between them. Conserving biodiversity is crucial for maintaining the balance that sustains life on earth yet human activity means that global biodiversity is diminishing.

Agricultural biodiversity is vital to ensure the production of food, now and in the future. However, it is increasingly under threat from the globalisation of food markets and the industrialisation of agriculture with techniques such as mono-cropping and genetic modification. In the last century, 90% of crop varieties have disappeared from agricultural fields. For smallholder farmers living in developing countries, the loss of local crops represents a loss of choice that further heightens their vulnerability to food shortages.

Find Your Feet believes maintaining agricultural biodiversity improves rural families' long-term access to sufficient, nutritious food. FYF projects enable small-scale farmers living in India and Malawi to use sustainable farming methods that protect biodiversity whilst also improving their agricultural production.

Case Study: conserving agricultural biodiversity in Andhra Pradesh, India

In the Medak District of Andhra Pradesh, government incentives have led to an increase in cash crop and mono-crop production, reducing the agricultural biodiversity that has characterised the plateau for years. FYF's local partner, the Deccan Development Society (DDS), is supporting smallholder dalit farmers to revive local agricultural practices and develop sustainable agriculture techniques that conserve biodiversity, improve soil fertility and increase yields.

Gangwar's Story

Gangwar is a 70 year old robust and vibrant woman. One of the first to join the sangam - the village level association of the poor through which DDS work - Gangwar has seen the positive impact of conserving agricultural biodiversity.

"Through the sangam's help, we have brought fertility to our soil. Earlier we had only 4 varieties of crop now we have 30."

"Mixed cropping is the best method. Every crop does something to the soil and helps others to grow, either by providing safety against insects or enriching the soil with leaf fall. Further, we feel secure in the thought that if one crop fails there others to sustain us.

"The best thing about this method is that our traditional crops are very hardy and can survive under hostile conditions."

"Most often, chemical pesticides and fertilisers simply mess up the land. We use neem and chilli decoctions to fight insects and we use dung manure to improve the fertility of our soil. These are the natural strengths of our traditional agriculture…it has some culture and an identity of its own. And more than anything, it sets up a mutual relationship with our own environment."

Involvement in the sangams has empowered the farmers to address larger issues that they face. Using information on biodiversity, genetically modified crops and sustainable agriculture practices that DDS groups have documented, the farmers are collectively lobbying state, national and international governments about the policy issues that affect them. By working with DDS, marginalised farmers now have the capacity to productively farm their land and the confidence to use their experiences to inform debates and push for change on a local, national and international level.