Kenya: Farmers can benefit from traditional vegetables Government efforts to conserve biodiversity are also undermining traditional laws and customs and so threatening genetic resources. Africa has a relatively rich indigenous knowledge and indigenous vegetables have been used by the African people for thousands of years to solve food, developmental and environmental problems. Indigenous knowledge and technologies play major roles in biodiversity conservation, sustainable use and prospecting. In addition, their contributions to increasing food production and stemming environmental degradation are considerable. Despite their contributions, indigenous vegetables are not adequately promoted and protected in most African countries. Institutions to safeguard the rights of indigenous knowledge holders and indigenous vegetables are weak in most countries. In addition, there are weak links between the formal research and development institutions and local communities that hold and use the knowledge. This has denied Africa the opportunity to better understand and use its indigenous vegetables and knowledge base. Worse off, climate change is likely to pose a major challenge to agriculture, temperatures are rising, rainfall is becoming more variable and extreme weather is becoming a more common event. Researchers and policymakers agree that adapting agriculture to these impacts is a priority for ensuring future food security. Currently strategies to achieve this practice tend to focus on modern science but evidence, both old and new, suggests that the traditional knowledge and crop varieties of indigenous peoples and local communities could prove even more important in adapting agriculture to climate change. The traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples and local communities for ecosystem management and sustainable use of natural resources is gaining credence as a key weapon in the fight against climate change. Despite this growing recognition, the role of traditional knowledge in adapting agriculture to climate change remains largely undervalued by decision makers. A study by International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) researchers reveals that there are at least five types of traditional knowledge useful for adaptation in agriculture. This knowledge has also given rise to thousands of traditional crop species and varieties that local farmers have domesticated, improved and conserved over generations. “Traditional knowledge and crops have proved vital in adapting to the changes since farmers in all study sites choose traditional crop varieties over modern ones because they are better and adapt to climate changes,” says the paper’s lead author Dr. Krystyna Swiderska, a senior researcher at the IIED. “In the coastal Kenya hybrid seeds, has made adapted to local conditions and more likely to survive environmental stress and climatic variability.” The study reveals that many farmers in coastal Kenya are going back to using traditional maize varieties because they are hardy and better able to cope with unpredictable weather conditions and local pests. The study termed the communities a natural gene bank because traditional varieties or landraces are more genetically diverse than modern varieties that they can better withstand environmental stress such as lack of water or nutrients. Sacred forests known as “kayaas” conserve plant and animal biodiversity and provide a valuable source of germplasm for species that can tolerate extreme weather and soil conditions. In this study, Swiderska says that farmers understand and appreciate the value of diversity—not only as a natural gene bank for resilient crop varieties but also as a key farming practice to reduce risk. Another key advantage of traditional crop varieties, particularly for poor communities is that they are cheap and easily accessible. This is because they come from farmers’ own saved seeds and are commonly shared within and between villages. Whereas modern varieties on the other hand usually have to be bought each season, depend on market availability and quality, and are often protected by intellectual property rights (IPRs), which can restrict their use. They also require costly inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides. Access to modern seeds and inputs is particularly challenging for farmers in remote areas not well reached by markets or agricultural extension services. For these communities, being self- reliant is vital and traditional crop varieties may be the only option. Although the principle of sharing seeds and knowledge is found across most traditional farming communities, the mechanisms for doing so are becoming weaker. In western Kenya the Technology Adoption through Research Organization (TATRO) has mobilized farmers into growing traditional indigenous vegetables in plenty. The group has been producing and selling seeds to local farmers in a bid to help revived seed and knowledge sharing to meet emerging economic and climatic challenges. “The group has since expanded in membership with majority being women,” says Prof. Mary Abukutsa-Onyango, a horticultural lecturer at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT). Abukutsa-Onyango is behind the formation of TATRO, a seed production initiative is by a community based organization in western Kenya . TATRO is committed to this venture after receiving training from national and international research organizations on growing and seed processing of traditional vegetables. “The traditional knowledge, crops and farming practices offer huge potential for building resilience and adapting agriculture to climate change. But if we are to harness them, we must do more to support traditional knowledge and genetic resources, while also tackling the multiple drivers of their loss,” she says. Abukutsa-Onyango states that compared with modern hybrids, traditional indigenous vegetables are cheaper, easier to access, more diverse and more resilient to climate pressures. She suggests that traditional indigenous vegetables be covered by agricultural policies, subsidies, research/extension and intellectual property rights instead of promoting a few modern varieties. “Traditional knowledge is an essential element of local adaptive capacity that can be enhanced through local seed systems, farmers’ rights to traditional crops and market access for local varieties,” she adds. The don notes that traditional farming practices conserve key resources for resilience and adaptation of the biodiversity, water, soil and nutrients. During periods of drought in Kenya , livestock farmers share their animals with friends and relatives with different sources of water and pasture to minimize chances of losing all their stock. Threats to traditional knowledge research by IIED and partners has identified multiple drivers of loss of traditional knowledge and genetic diversity, which are often interlinked and mutually reinforcing. The biggest threat to traditional varieties is the extension of ‘modern’ varieties, mainly hybrids. In Kenya , following the Green Revolution and the push to use modern agriculture to improve food production and security, a high proportion of farmers similarly grow modern monoculture crop varieties. In some cases, government efforts to conserve biodiversity are also undermining traditional laws and customs and so threatening genetic resources. Governance structures to protect sacred kaya forests have reduced the role of traditional elders and are proving ineffective. This, combined with adverse climatic changes, has meant that some plant and animal species that local communities used to rely on for construction, medicine and food have become extinct. The study by IIED identifies that there is need to support local initiatives such as community based landrace conservation and seed banks, local seed production and sharing, and participatory plant breeding. The importance of traditional knowledge in adapting to climate change means that these issues should be addressed as a priority in national adaptation actions and global climate negotiations. Traditional farmers often live on marginal land where climate change impacts and selection pressures are greatest. This enables them to identify resilient crop species and varieties for adaptation. The report blames agricultural policies, subsidies and research that promote modern varieties and technologies at the expense of local knowledge and biodiversity as the key hindrance to production of traditional indigenous vegetables. It further blames the Intellectual Property Rights ( IPR ) for protecting new varieties without equal protection of farmers’ rights over traditional varieties Media promotions of modern varieties which influences consumer demand and reduce markets for traditional varieties also contribute to the down grading of the vegetables varieties.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 07:41:21 +0000
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