Conserving Traditional Seed Crops Diversity

Over the last two decades, 75% of the genetic diversity of agricultural crops has been lost. Genetic diversity is the basis of all crop improvement. Crop varieties, as an integral part of genetic diversity, are the result of human selection and management, as well as natural mechanisms of evolution. Plant breeding by farmers and specialists builds on these phenomena, makes them more efficient, and focuses them on farmers’ needs. This paper reviews traditional seed crops conservation methods and notes that by improving conservation management and assistance to increase farmers access and rights to get and plant the seeds can save local knowledge, increase community resilience and ensure agriculture productivity.