Dr. Carlo Fadda will  be  a key note speaker to the USAID Funded IPM CRSP Integrated Pest Management Collaborative Research Support Program in  a conference to be held in Manado, North Sulawesi, IndonesiaConference: July 4–5, 2013.  This is an opportunity  to present our  intra-specific diversity to manage pest and disease work in China, Uganda, Morocco and Ecuador (original funded by SDC and UNEP/GEF and now funded by IFAD) to USAID and their Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP).Link to the conference website

In 2002, a team of international and national partners from China, Ecuador, Morocco and Uganda, Bioversity International, FAO and faculty from Universities in the USA, Australia, and Europe came together to discuss ideas on how traditional and modern crop varietal diversity could be used within crop production and pest management strategies to reduce current and the potential for future crop damage from pests and diseases. The discussions centred on building an approach to answer the strategic question” What is the probability that a crop population will be overcome by a new mutant pest or disease or one migrating from a different area?” The premise was that a better understanding of the genetic vulnerability of a farmer’s crop population to pest and disease attacks will allow farmers to prepare for, and therefore protect their food supply against the probability of future harvest losses. Crops were prioritized by the countries because of their importance for food security, their significance in national breeding programmes, and to ensure representation of different plant breeding systems. Pest and pathogens were selected only if there was known variation for resistance in the host crop in the countries. Pathogen strains and pest biotypes were also documented to have a high level of diversity both within a given area and from year to year.

The chapters in this volume are based on results from this research and development partnership which begun in 2002, and now includes over 60 national and local governments and nongovernmental organizations in the four countries. The partners include agronomists, geneticists, plant breeders, economists, ecologists, pathologists, entomologists and development organizations linked to FAO’s Farmer Field Schools for farmer to farmer training in IPM to combine participatory diagnostic information with field observations and experimental trials. The interdisciplinary teams collect standardized information from farmers on crop varietal diversity, sources of traditional and modern planting materials and disease management practices that related to crop varietal diversity and implemented 1) field observations of disease incidence for all varieties, traditional and improved, 11) on-farm and on-station trials and, 111)screen house trials including, which now have the information and materials to use to expand the IPM options to include traditional crop varieties.

The results from this work reveal that traditional crop varietal diversity is an important aspect of farmers’ strategies for coping with pests and diseases. Increased diversity in farmers’ fields, measured by the number (richness) and spatial distribution (evenness) of local and modern crop varieties was correlated with a decrease in damage levels as the intensity of pest and disease pressure increased. In addition, there was a consistent reduction in variance of damage levels as diversity increased. This gave a clear indication that some of the low diversity (single variety) farms may have adequate crop yield if they happen to be growing a winning variety that year, if not, or if something in the system changes (markets, climate), then crop damage and yield on these farms is far worse than on more diverse farms. The results support what might be expected on a risk management argument for diversity use to reduce pest and disease damage.

Edited by Devra I. Jarvis, Christine Padoch, and H. D. Cooper

It takes a look at how farmers manage, maintain, and benefit from biodiversity in agricultural production systems. The book has been announced on the Uzbek web-site; http://agronews.uz/ru/news/200-novoe-izdanie-po-agroekologii

Kiziba community genebank in Kabwohe, Uganda, started in 2010 when farmers realized that it was the only way to have a diverse Common Bean seed source in the area and solve the seed insecurity problem that was becoming long lasting. With technical support from Bioversity International and the National Agricultural Research Organization as well as financial support from UNEP/GEF and IFAD, farmers worked very hard to save seed that formed the starting capital for the genebank.

Farmers sorting common bean seed

The first beneficiaries borrowed and returned twice the amount of seed quantities to gene bank and the trend continued this way in the seasons that followed. However, the rainfall and sunshine patterns started changing from normal and all the climbing varieties eventually got erased from the system. The bushy varieties survived to different extents up to today and the quantities of seed have been steadily increasing with each season despite challenges of climate change. The season of July to October 2012 was appalling as they never collected even the quantity they gave out at the start of the season. Although farmers promised to pay the amount of seed they owe in the current season, one worries a bit if this climate change is to continue because then the future of this community gene banking initiative cannot be forecast with confidence.

Farmers have resorted to varieties which mature early and those that persist extreme weather conditions but these are not many. In the event that the changes in weather continue, they are likely to take with them the Common bean diversity that the farmers are struggling to conserve and therefore beat the objective of establishing the genebank. Irrigation would save the situation but might be tricky for the small scale farmers to afford or sustain but should we close our eyes and not even look on?

Here are the links to the different language PDF versions of the Managing Bioveristy in Agroecosytesm.

The English version of the book is only available commercially (http://www.cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-13648-8/managing-biodiversity-in-agricultural-ecosystems).

Arabic: ftp://DADnet:Mobile45@ext-ftp.fao.org/ag/reserved/dad-net/Managing_agrobiodiv_A.pdf  (6.5 MB)

Chinese: ftp://DADnet:Mobile45@ext-ftp.fao.org/ag/reserved/dad-net/Managing_agrobiodiversity_C.pdf  (4 MB)

French: ftp://DADnet:Mobile45@ext-ftp.fao.org/ag/reserved/dad-net/Biodiversidad_F.pdf   (4 MB)

Spanish: ftp://DADnet:Mobile45@ext-ftp.fao.org/ag/reserved/dad-net/Biodiversidad_S.pdf  (3.6 MB)

The volume includes the most recent research and developments in the maintenance of local diversity at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels. Chapters cover the assessment and farmer management practices for crop, livestock, aquatic, and associated diversity (such as pollinators and soil microorganisms) in agricultural ecosystems; examine the potential role of diversity in minimizing pest and disease pressures; and present studies that exemplify the potential nutritional, ecosystem service, and financial values of this diversity under changing economic and environmental conditions. The volume contains perspectives that combine the thinking of social and biological scientists.

Inappropriate or excessive use of inputs can cause damage to biodiversity within agricultural ecosystems and compromise future productivity. This book features numerous case studies that show how farmers have used alternative approaches to manage biodiversity to enhance the stability, resilience, and productivity of their farms, pointing the way toward improved biodiversity on a global scale. As custodians of the world’s agricultural biodiversity, farmers are fully invested in ways to create, sustain, and assist in the evolution and adaptation of a variety of plant and animal species. Thus this text is mandatory reading for conservationists, environmentalists, botanists, zoologists, geneticists, and anyone interested in the health of our ecosystem.

The English version of the book is only available commercially (http://www.cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-13648-8/managing-biodiversity-in-agricultural-ecosystems).

• Arabic: ftp://DADnet:Mobile45@ext-ftp.fao.org/ag/reserved/dad-net/Managing_agrobiodiv_A.pdf  (6.5 MB)
• Chinese: ftp://DADnet:Mobile45@ext-ftp.fao.org/ag/reserved/dad-net/Managing_agrobiodiversity_C.pdf  (4 MB)
• French: ftp://DADnet:Mobile45@ext-ftp.fao.org/ag/reserved/dad-net/Biodiversidad_F.pdf   (4 MB)
• Spanish: ftp://DADnet:Mobile45@ext-ftp.fao.org/ag/reserved/dad-net/Biodiversidad_S.pdf  (3.6 MB)

1. Presenting the importance of diseases to inform farmers how to control them using  genetic diversity and other means.
2. Showing farmers the importance of seed and its processing for better control of pest and diseases.
3. Proposing to farmers different options of increasing production through the use of local varieties and their derived products, but also through the adoption of better seed processing and agricultural production techniques.
4. Presenting to farmers the origin of infestation and the damage pests could cause to seeds and grains.

• How to evaluate alternative research and development strategies in terms of their potential impact on productivity, environmental services and welfare goals, including trade-offs among these goals?
• How to cost-effectively measure and monitor actual effectiveness of interventions and general progress towards achieving sustainable development objectives?

The purpose of this review was to identify lessons and opportunities for the derivation and use of data from monitoring initiatives in the sustainable intensification of agriculture. The ultimate goal is to provide decision-makers with tools that they can use to explore trade-offs between food security, environmental and socio-economic goals. The analysis is intended to inform the development of any future DFID research investments and engagement with stakeholders in this area.

http://www.dfid.gov.uk/R4D/Output/192446/Default.aspx.