Agrobiodiversity conservation and the role of rural women

Rural women have played a major role in conserving the indigenous variability and they possess knowledge on their variable uses. The genetic treasure needs to be conserved for today and tomorrow’s use and rural women must play a leading role in this direction. Partnerships with rural women will be a valuable collaboration for the scientists who aim to achieve the goals of sustainable natural resource management and productive agricultural systems. The FAO consultation on “Expert consultation on agrobiodiversity conservation and the role of rural women” was organized to address these contemporary concerns with tripartite collaboration. The partners were FAO regional office for Asia and the Pacific, the International Potato Centre – Users’ Perspectives With Agricultural Research and Development (CIP-UPWARD), and SEAMEO Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEAMEO-SEARCA). Specifically, the consultation explored gender concerns in agrobiodiversity management in the context of local knowledge systems and local community rights for natural resources and women’s right to these resources. This publication is the outcome of the consultation that had the participation of regional experts who are directly involved in the programmes for community-based agrobiodiversity management.