Devra Jarvis

Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research

Most of the attention given to intraspecific crop, livestock, and aquaculture diversity in agricultural production systems has been targeted at their roles in providing provisioning services, such as food and fibre or their cultural services, providing non-material benefits, such as places for recreation and inspiration. The additional role that in...

Soil enzyme activities can be used to characterize microbial metabolism given their importance as catalysts in various biochemical processes. However, how soil microbial metabolism in the desert steppe responds to long-term grazing remains poorly understood. Here, utilized data from a 19-year grazing experiment with four grazing intensities (no gra...

The five independent countries of Central Asia, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, contain one of the richest areas in the world for the specific and intraspecific diversity of temperate fruit and nut tree species. Research was carried out via the collaboration of national research and education institutes with...

Supplementary materials of the article: Farmers’ Variety Naming and Crop Varietal Diversity of Two Cereal and Three Legume Species in the Moroccan High Atlas, Using DATAR. July 2023, Sustainability 15(13). DOI: 10.3390/su151310411.

In the context of climate change, drought is a critical challenge that drastically limits the growth and productivity of barley. Seminal roots and coleoptile play an important role in crop establishment and growth. This study assessed the adaptive changes at an early stage of development using a resurrection approach on 40 populations of Hordeum vu...

Pro-poor interventions that use agrobiodiversity for development actions are widely considered relevant only at small scales. Agrobiodiversity interventions are often left out of national-level/large-scale development planning. Scaling-up modalities include adaptation, diffusion, replication, value addition, and temporal scaling up. We undertook a...

Local agrobiodiversity in remote areas such as the Moroccan High Atlas is poorly studied, despite being of great importance for the sustainability and resilience of mountainous populations. This includes important species such as wheat (Triticum spp.), barley (Hordeum vulgare), fava beans (Vicia faba), peas (Pisum sativum), and alfalfa (Medicago sa...

Field trials of rice and bean dynamic mixtures were carried out in low input and hill farming systems of Nepal from 2019 to 2021 to improve productivity and resilience. The rice trials were conducted in two locations (Jumla and Lamjung) and those on bean in Jumla, using a randomized complete block design with three replications. Dynamic mixtures we...

Field trials of rice and bean dynamic mixtures were carried out in low input and hill farming systems of Nepal from 2019 to 2021 to improve productivity and resilience. The rice trials were conducted in two locations (Jumla and Lamjung) and those on bean in Jumla, using a randomized complete block design with three replications. Dynamic mixtures we...

In both developing and developed countries, there is increasing interest in adopting more inclusive and problem-solving participatory research methods. While there is a wealth of methods and toolkits for conducting participatory research in the form of scientific articles, books, and manuals, this manual aims to provide a source of information on a...

A. Introduction Major problems in agrobiodiversity are knowledge gaps and limited access to information and knowledge products. Problem and solution identification for particular area play a key role to advance agrobiodiversity conservation science. Most of the projects plan to organize training and information sharing activity. Training and inform...

Community seedbanks promote conservation and the use of crop genetic diversity, as well as supporting farmer seed systems. This study analyses seed flow and access to crop genetic diversity over time in the Nakaseke, Rubaya, and Kibuga seedbanks of Uganda. The modes of operation of the banks were compared through scrutinizing records of crops and v...

Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum) has been cultivated for over one thousand years in the Liangshan Prefecture of Sichuan, China. Growing population pressures, economic modernization pressures, and the erosion of traditional culture have led to the rapid loss of area covered by Tartary buckwheat landraces. Morphological and molecular character...

On-farm conservation is a process of the continuous cultivation and management of a diverse set of populations by farmers in the agro-ecosystem where a crop has evolved. The continued evolution and adaptation of a species/ cultivar, including adaptation to climate change, thus depend on continuous on farm management of local crop diversity. The pap...

A. Introduction Nepalese farmers of mountain and hill agroecosystem mostly grow landraces or traditional varieties of most of the crops. In some major crops like rice, wheat, and maize, very old varieties are in cultivation. Insufficient research on minor crops and poor extension networks to disseminate new varieties of major crops are the major re...

Farmers continue to grow traditional crop varieties, along with now-creolized varieties released decades ago. The absence of modern varieties is due to the failure of conventional plant breeding to meet production/cultural needs, difficult access to new varieties, and inadequate safety-nets for testing new varieties in the field. We hypothesize a p...

Local seed systems remain the fundamental source of seeds for many crops in developing countries. Climate resilience for small holder farmers continues to depend largely on locally available seeds of traditional crop varieties. High rainfall events can have as significant an impact on crop production as increased temperatures and drought. This arti...

Groundnut ( Arachis hypogaea L.) is important for providing food, income, livestock fodder for smallholder farmers, and improving soil fertility. However, groundnut yields on farmers’ fields in Sub-Saharan Africa are still very low due to various constraints. Several groundnut cultivars are available within the farmer’s domain but the adoption of t...

Passive restoration (without any intervention) has been proposed as an effective strategy for grassland restoration in abandoned croplands. However, whether the vegetation in abandoned croplands can change towards the desired state and the time needed to reach a relative stable state are context-dependent. We investigated three abandoned croplands...

The cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is one of the most widely consumed legumes globally due to its nutrient content, taste, and affordability. Nutrient composition and consumer preference were determined for twenty local farmer (landrace) and commercial peanut varieties grown in the Nakaseke and Nakasongola districts of the central wooded s...

Diversity study in barley using isozymes

Nepal has released and registered a total of 623 genetically uniform (mono genotyped) varieties. These varieties were developed by both conventional, and classical plant breeding, biotech-assisted plant breeding, and participatory plant breeding methods. However, these varieties have been shown to vary in their yield performance over the years and...

Traditional crops play an important role in household food security and livelihood needs of mountain communities, while at the same time safeguarding crop biodiversity for future generations. This study aims to analyse socioeconomic, farm-specificagro-ecological and market factors influencing cultivation and maintenance of crop diversity in Nepal....

The present study was intendant to evaluate variations among flaxseed varities in terms of fatty acid composition, phytochemical profiles, and antioxidant activities determined by oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferrous ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. Significant variations in the fa...

Recent socioeconomic development, increased transport and new agricultural technology are endangering the survival of traditional agriculture and the Yi people's traditional knowledge of cultivating Tartary buckwheat. The cultural heritage of Tartary buckwheat cultivation among the Yi communities needs to be investigated and protected before its lo...

Achieving long-term food and nutrition security will always remain a challenge in remote mountainous environments where presence of formal sector research and development agencies and private sectors are limited. In this context, exploiting biodiversity of traditional mountain crops can play important role to ensuring food and nutrition security by...

Traditional crops cultivated and consumed over generations are important components of agrobiodiversity that support dietary diversity, sustaining productivity and livelihoods of marginalized populations in Nepal. The paper outlines initiatives and progress made for value chain development and mainstreaming traditional nutrient-dense crops for nutr...

Organic farming that respects human and environmental health is promoted in Nepal and globally as an agricultural production alternative to conventional agrochemical-based farming. This study documents the current state of organic farming and marketing and identifies gaps in policies, practices and program activities for the production, processing...

Traditional crops cultivated and consumed over generations are important components of agrobiodiversity that support dietary diversity, sustaining productivity and livelihoods of marginalized populations in Nepal. The paper outlines initiatives and progress made for value chain development and mainstreaming traditional nutrient-dense crops for nutr...

Management of production diversity and farmers' consumption choices of traditional crops play an important role in household food and nutrition security of mountain communities, where production, access and availability of major food stapes (rice, wheat, maize) and conventional vegetables (leafy green and others) are limited due to remoteness, marg...

This book aims to document the importance of traditional mountain crops, the research and development actions, methodological tools, and approaches used to increase their value and utilization, as well as mainstreaming their use at the local decision making and national policy levels. The research team members from NARC, LI-BIRD and Bioversity Inte...

Participatory ‘assessment workshops’ were held in 2018 in Yanuo Village, Xishuangbanna, Southwest China. The ‘Indicators of Resilience in Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes and Seascapes (SEPLS)’ tool was used to provide the community with a framework for discussion and analysis of socio-ecological processes essential for resilience. Workshops...

Geographical indication in Nepal for protection of agricultural biodiversity in addition to get premium price to farmers. Approaches are described

conservation and development of genetic resources for food and agriculture. Over generations, farmers have selected, domesticated and nurtured crop varieties and their wild relatives by retaining seeds, recycling them for the next planting seasons and exchanging them with their neighbours and local communities to meet various household, social, eco...

Various participatory methods for deploying and sourcing new crop diversity have been practiced during the UNEP/GEF funded Local Crops Project. More than 300 landraces and new varieties of eight local crops: amaranth, naked barley, common bean, buckwheat, finger millet, foxtail millet, proso millet, and cold-tolerant rice were deployed in four dist...

Diversity is most for advancing agriculture development, however, modern agriculture has accelerated the replacement of old age crop diversity. Agrobiodiversity index and measures are commonly used and estimated for crop and animal species, landraces and sites. These are useful for locating sites, crops and custodians of agrobiodiversity. Agrobiodi...

Any technological option with greater diversity is less risky, more sustainable and higher adaptability in agriculture. Diversity rich solution is any technology or problem associated solution that considers diversity as an option and address problems with inter and intra level diversity as well as combinations of different components. it also incl...

A good practice is a process or methodology or action that is effective and successful; environmentally, economically and socially sustainable; technically feasible; inherently participatory; replicable and adaptable, that has been proven to work well and produce good results. It is a successful experience tested and validated in achieving its obje...

Good Practices: Project Outcome A good practice is a process or methodology or action that is effective and successful in achieving its objectives. It is inherently participatory; replicable and adaptable, that has been proven to work well and produce good results. This book documents 22 good practices of agrobiodiversity management either develope...

This catalogue is a result of combined efforts of the people engaged actively and continuously in a UNEP/GEF funded project “Integrating traditional crop genetic diversity into technology: using a biodiversity portfolio approach to buffer against unpredictable environmental change in the Nepal Himalayas” being implemented in four districts Dolakha,...

The Yi ethnic group in Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province in Southwest China have cultivated Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum) for at least a thousand years. Tartary buckwheat landraces are maintained through their traditional seed system. Field work and social network methodologies were used to analyze the seed sources and their flows, a...

The European chestnut population is enduring multiple compounding exotic pest and disease outbreaks across Turkey. The deeply held value of the chestnut species for the Turkish public is reflected in substantial government conservation programming. Chestnut is predominantly found on state land managed by Turkey’s General Directorate of Forestry (GD...

Smallholder farmers in mountain regions of Nepal depend on traditional nutrient rich underutilized crops, including barley, buckwheat, beans, amaranths, finger millet, proso millet, and foxtail millet for their local food and nutrition security. These crops are currently undervalued nationally and globally and hence neglected by the research and de...

The Agrobiodiversity Compendium provides guidelines for the collection and analysis of information about the diversity of crops, livestock, pollinators and harvested wild plants. The methods described have all been used and documented with communities around the world in landscapes with diverse environmental and cultural features. These methods can...

Agrobiodiversity, which includes the diversity of crop species and varieties, livestock species and breeds, useful wild plants, pollinators, soil biota and other aquatic and terrestrial organisms in and around production systems, provides complementarity, adaptability and resilience in food systems and helps to secure a portfolio of present and fut...

A study was conducted from July 2015-Dec 2017 to recue endangered crop landraces of native crops from 10 earthquake affected districts and promote their conservation for rebuilding local seed system and resilience of the households. The study employed several methods, approaches and processes combining rescue missions for collection, conservation a...

While crop genetic diversity supports ecological processes and food security, there have been few cross-cultural studies evaluating the influence of cultural and dietary factors on the conservation of genetic resources. This study examines genetic diversity patterns of tartary buckwheat in 18 smallholder farming communities across five regions of C...

Crop variety mixtures (different varieties of a crop grown together in a single plot) have been successfully deployed in pathogen and pest management for several crops including wheat, common bean and rice. Despite the available evidence, promotion of this approach has remained limited in many countries, including Uganda. The factors that influence...

Conservation biologists should seek to work with those involved in sustainable agriculture and rural development in expanded integrated approaches to reduce pesticide harm to humans, biodiversity and environmental services. Despite new evidence, conservation organisations have tended not to fully recognize the impacts of pesticides on biodiversity,...

The aim of this research was to determine resistance reaction of 14 Musa genotypes against Mycosphaerella fijensis, causal agent of Black Sigatoka disease. Two experiments were conducted in laboratory and shadehause at Pichilingue research Station from the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIAP), Ecuador. Genotypes considered were: Orit...

Angular leaf spot (ALS) is one of the most economically important bean diseases in Africa. One promising control option for the disease is the use of mixtures of resistant and susceptible varieties. This research evaluated (1) the reaction of farmer preferred bean varieties to ALS in the screenhouse and on-station and (2) the effect of different sp...

Based on twenty years of global research, this is the first comprehensive reference on crop genetic diversity as it is maintained on farmland around the world. Showcasing the findings of seven experts representing the fields of ecology, crop breeding, genetics, anthropology, economics, and policy, this invaluable resource places farmer-managed crop...

The Lhoba are a small ethnic group, located in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Until 1960, their livelihood was predominantly based on swidden agriculture, hunting, and gathering. To investigate and document the plant species used by the Lhoba, ethnobotanical surveys were conducted in three villages of Nanyi Township in Milin County, Tibet, C...

In this chapter, we develop new indicators and statistical tests to characterize patterns of crop diversity at local scales to better understand interactions between ecological and socio-cultural functions of agroecosystems. Farms, where a large number of crops (species or landraces) is grown, are known to contribute a large part of the locally ava...

Background: Cha-hua (Camellia reticulata) is one of China's traditional ornamental flowers developed by the local people of Yunnan Province. Today, more than 500 cultivars and hybrids are recognized. Many ancient camellia trees still survive and are managed by local peopl. A few records on cha-hua culture exist, but no studies expound the interact...

The importance of seed provisioning in food security and nutrition, agricultural development and rural livelihoods, and agrobiodiversity and germplasm conservation is well accepted by policy makers, practitioners and researchers. The role of farmer seed networks is less well understood and yet is central to debates on current issues ranging from se...

Transformations that farmers bring to their traditional farming systems and their impacts on the conservation and evolution of maize varieties