Development of biodiversity, seed and culinary fairs

The Instituto de Investigaciones Fundamentales en Agricultura Tropical ‘Alejandro de Humboldt’ (INIFAT), together with the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Agrícolas (INCA) and several other organizations, have organized several biodiversity, seed and culinary fairs as part of their research activities. The first seed and biodiversity fairs were organized in the Biosphere Reserves ‘Sierra del Rosario’ and ‘Cuchilla del Toa’ in 1999; culinary fairs started from 2003 onwards in Sierra del Rosario and other locations. The objective of the seed and biodiversity fairs is to encourage the exchange and selling of seeds among farmers. These fairs allowed farmers from different regions of the country to participate and to engage in knowledge sharing and seed exchanges. While at the culinary fairs, women have played their fundamental role and showed their knowledge and skills in preparing various traditional foods. The fairs have resulted to recovering and reviving various traditional foods that are associated with certain regions, festivities and celebrations and times of the year. It stimulated creativity and interest by showing the range of culinary uses. The fairs highlight the need to link conservation of crop diversity with food dishes or family meals. Also, found important to share this knowledge with larger population groups.