Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[herb farmer <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

Small farmers hold the key to seed diversity: researchers
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/lifestyle/small-farmers-hold-the-ke/1663520.html

ROME (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Up to 75 percent of the seeds needed 
to produce the world's diverse food crops are held by small farmers, 
researchers said following a review of international census data.

Growers with farms of less than seven acres preserve diversity through 
"networks of seed and knowledge exchanges", Karl Zimmerer, a Penn State 
University geography professor who led the research, told a conference 
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on Friday.

Some 75 percent of the world's plant genetic diversity has been lost 
since the 1900s, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has 
reported, as farmers shift from local varieties to genetically uniform, 
high-yielding crop breeds.

About 75 percent of the world's food is generated from only 12 plants 
and five animal species, the FAO has said.

Unlike large plantations which are monocultures, small farmers often 
plant several different species of staple crops, like potatoes, 
improving the resilience of their food and increasing its diversity.

While less efficient for some large farms, planting a variety of seeds 
can help food systems build resilience to pests or climate change, 
growers said.

"How many resources are going to monocultures and how many are going to 
diversifying food production systems?" Nicaraguan indigenous activist 
Myrna Cunningham asked during a U.N. conference on Monday.

"If we (start to) base food production on the richness of our diverse 
societies, we can improve the situation."

Small farmers are often the first to face hunger or displacement, but 
their role in preserving varied types of seeds is crucial, activists said.

The new research from 11 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America 
underlines the importance of supporting small farmers, particularly 
women, who are leading the way in preserving diversity in their use of 
seeds, they said.

The 25 percent of seeds for food crops not held by small farmers are 
preserved in gene banks, researchers said.

"As a society, we are increasingly exposed to shocks and risks (in our 
food systems)," Adolfo Brizzi, director of policy for the International 
Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), told the U.N. conference.

"We need diversity as a base in case something goes wrong."