On-Farm Conservation

On-farm conservation is "the sustainable management of genetic diversity of locally developed traditional crop varieties, with associated wild and weedy species or forms, by farmers within traditional agricultural, horticultural or agri-silvicultural cultivation systems"

Objectives:

On-farm conservation is mainly done by farmers, communities and few NGOs
It mainly aims to conserve farmers’ varieties, landraces and traditional varieties which are widely grown, promoted and used by farmers themselves.
Farmers are the main actors in on-farm conservation; they maintain the traditional varieties across years in the environment where they get distinct properties, propagation, sowing, growing and donating/selling of materials. And they also concerned about agro-ecosystem maintenance and care.
Public authorities have distinct role to promote, organize, coordinate and monitor in situ on-farm conservation. They will give technical, administrative, legal and economic support to in situ on-farm conservation. In addition to this, they also involved in policy development and follow up and favor the registration and conservation of varieties.
It is mostly devoid of improved varieties and hybrids, which are in mainstream food grain production nowadays.
Most of the on-farm conservation practices use traditional agri-horticulture systems, which are devoid of fertilizers, pesticides and other agri-chemicals.
Small and marginal farmers are more benefitted as they are the ones involved in subsistence agriculture for their self-sustenance and understood the importance and qualities of landraces.
Farmers’ selects for improving yield, adaptation and quality. The conservation methods they follow will help in improving their capacity to increase farmers’ income and seeds for their next season.

Factors which influence farmers decision making regarding crop diversity
	Environmental factors- which helps in their adaptation, resistance to pests and diseases Human managed environmental factors- helps to thrive in changing climate Socioeconomic factors such as high yield and ownership rights Cultural factors such as religious importance of traditional varieties, which are used in festivals Government policies-MSP, incentives for conservation of crop diversity

On-farm conservation helps to integrate farmers into a national plant genetic resources system, which may help farmers to get access to wide variety of genetic resources and assistance from scientists.
The on-farm conservation will improves the processes of evolution and adaptation of crops to their environments.
It also improves the livelihood of resource-poor farmers through social and economic development and maintains or increase farmers' control over and access to crop genetic resources in their own field or others field through exchange or other means.
It helps to develop and maintain landraces and traditional varieties according to their requirement (yield, resistance to pests, local adaptation) through selection by farmers and participatory plant breeding
To helps to maintain different traditions while extending crop and varietal uses and maintain traditional knowledge in the community
Conserve diversity at all levels; ecosystem, species and intra-specific (genetic) levels – adaptation strategy for changing climate and ecosystem services and functions

Some possible benefits accruing from on-farm conservation (adapted from Jarvis 1999)

	Economic and Socio-cultural benefits	Ecological benefits	Genetic benefits

Farmer household	Manage risk and Uncertainty Fit different budget Constraints Avoid or minimize labour bottlenecks Fulfill rituals or forge social ties Fill nutritional needs	Minimize use of chemical inputs Soil structure amelioration Manage pests and diseases	Insurance against environmental and socioeconomic change
Society	Global food security Empowerment of local communities Social sustainability	Reduction of chemical pollution Restriction of plant diseases Regulation of hydrological flows	Insurance against environmental change, pests and diseases Use for the agricultural industry

REFERENCES

Jarvis D.I, Myer L, Klemick K, Guarino L, Smale M, Brown A.H.D, Sadiki M, Sthapit B and Hodgkin T (2000). A Training Guide for In Situ Conservation On-farm. Version 1. International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy.
Maxted N, Avagyan A, Frese L, Iriondo J.M, Magos Brehm J, Singer A, Kell S.P (2015). ECPGR Concept for in situ conservation of crop wild relatives in Europe. Wild Species Conservation in Genetic Reserves Working Group, European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources, Rome, Italy.
Sthapit B.R, Lamers H, and Rao, V.R (2013). Custodian farmers of agricultural biodiversity: selected profiles from South and South East Asia. Paper presented at: Workshop on Custodian Farmers of Agricultural Biodiversity (New Delhi, India).