This issue of LEISA India is about biodiversity: a nation’s heritage, an opportunity and a solution to deal with threatened livelihoods and ecologies. Biodiversity is a reliable adaptive strategy as well as a mitigating strategy. Family farmers are custodians of biodiversity and articles in this issue highlight how farming and biodiversity go hand in hand.
Read about the many advantages of biodiversity based farming, especially for farmers living in poverty. For example, in Maharashtra, farmers who practise biodiverse-farming experience greater resilience during dry years. Read about how farmers and communities are regaining access and control over their biological resources. For example, farmers in Nepal are conserving their local crops and varieties using Community Seed Banks.
Agriculture, biodiversity and communities: does it add up?
Gine Zwart, Sarah Doornbos and Willy Douma
Cultivating biodiversity – Peasant women in India
P V Satheesh
Conservation by communities – The CBM approach
Pitambar Shrestha and Sajal Sthapit
Local seed systems
For enhancing food security and farm resilience
M Karthikeyan and C S P Patil
Interview: Phrang Roy
“Link biodiversity with the pleasures of food”
Janneke Bruil
Towards food sovereignty
Millets based bio-diverse farming system
Prasant Mohanty
Seed sovereignty for food security and livelihood improvement
Sanjay M Patil
Adapting to climate variation through crop diversification
Eshwer Kale and Marcella D’souza
Evolutionary populations
Living gene banks in farmers’ fields
Maryam Rahmanian, Maede Salimi,
Khadija Razavi, Dr Reza Haghparast and
Dr Salvatore Ceccarelli
The Narayana Reddy Column
Cultivating farm biodiversity
Seed festivals promote seed conservation
The Nel Thiruvizha in Adirengam
Sreedevi Lakshmi Kutty
