Genes in the Field: On-Farm Conservation of Crop Diversity

by Brush, Stephen B.; International Plant Genetic Resources Institute; International Development Research Centre (Canada)

• ISBN13: 9780889368842
• ISBN10: 0889368848
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-12-01
• Publisher: Stylus Pub Llc

Summary

The diversity of crop plants is one of our most important biological resources, and the most important sources of crop genes are the fields of peasant farmers in regions where crop domestication and evolution have occurred. Today, however, crop genes are threatened by social and technological change such as human population growth, the use of new agricultural technologies, the development of new varieties, and the commercialization of agriculture. Gene banks have been successful in capturing much of the genetic diversity of crop species, but it is also essential that the environmental systems where the crop genes evolve also be conserved. Genes in the Field provides an interdisciplinary foundation for an important new conservation program: maintaining biological resources of crop plants within the systems where they have evolved. The book offers a truly global vision of the on-farm conservation movement and, like no other before it, provides a comprehensive review of the issues and challenges of on-farm conservation of genetic resources. The book's chapters are written by a collection of outstanding scholars and academics from a variety of disciplines; they include biologists, agronomists, anthropologists, economists, lawyers, and agricultural development specialists. Genes in the Field is truly global in scope and multidisciplinary in character. It will appeal to a large, varied, and international audience. Its most general appeal will be to professionals in the fields of conservation and agricultural development, particularly those who are involved in planning or implementing conservation programs. For course work, the book will be appropriate for graduate programs in agricultural development and conservation.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Cary Fowler
Geoffrey C. Hawtin
Toby Hodgkin
Section I. Introduction and overview
The issues of in situ conservation of crop genetic resources	3	(26)
Stephen B. Brush
Section II. Population biology and social science
The genetic structure of crop landraces and the challenge to conserve them in situ on farms	29	(22)
Anthony H. D. Brown
Section III. Case studies
Barley landraces from the Fertile Crescent: a lesson for plant breeders	51	(26)
Salvatore Ceccarelli
Stefania Grando
The barleys of Ethiopia	77	(32)
Zemede Asfaw
Traditional management of seed and genetic diversity: what is a landrace?	109	(34)
Dominique Louette
Keeping diversity alive: an Ethiopian perspective	143	(22)
Melaku Worede
Tesfaye Tesemma
Regassa Feyissa
Section IV. Policy and institutional issues
Optimal genetic resource conservation: in situ and ex situ	165	(28)
Timothy Swanson
Timo Goeschl
The Cultures of the Seed in the Peruvian Andes	193	(24)
Tirso A. Gonzales
On-farm conservation of crop diversity: policy and institutional lessons from Zimbabwe	217	(22)
Elizabeth Cromwell
Saskia van Oosterhout
In situ conservation and intellectual property rights	239	(22)
Carlos M. Correa
Farmer decision making and genetic diversity: linking multidisciplinary research to implementation on-farm	261	(18)
Devra Jarvis
Toby Hodgkin
Index	279