In-Situ Conservation of Native Cultivars and Their Wild Relatives

The long-term goal of this project is the conservation of agrobiodiversity in Peru, one of the world’s most important centers of origin of crop and plant genetic diversity. This project will target 11 important crop species, including several local varieties and wild relatives, for conservation of their genetic diversity within functioning agroecosystems. The project will focus activities in six key geographic areas (or micro-gene centers) and implement a series of strategic measures aimed at developing a comprehensive model or package of interventions designed to counteract threats to long-term conservation of genetic diversity from a variety of economic and cultural trends. Strategic measures include, providing specific standing to these areas as Special Management Areas, as well as targeted incentives to participating farmer communities and organizations to conserve crop genetic diversity; increasing the market acceptability of a broader range of native cultivars both within the six target areas and outside; maintaining gene flows through traditional practices within and between the target areas; and developing a sound information base and monitoring system to document genetic diversity, the traditional knowledge systems which sustain it, and experiences with marketing of traditional crops, as well as to provide a mechanism from which to feed lessons learned and best practices back to the stakeholder organizations and institutions of the six areas.