Potato diversity at height: multiple dimensions of farmer-driven in-situ conservation in the Andes

Justification: On-farm or in-situ conservation has become a well established and recognized approach for crop genetic resource conservation (Almekinders and De Boef, 2000; Bretting and Duvick, 1997; Brush, 1989, 2000; Engels et al., 2002; Friis-Hansen, 1999; Henry, 2006; Partap and Sthapit, 1998; Smale, 1998; Wood and Lenné, 1999). A few decades ago, at the start of the green revolution, it was considered inevitable that modern cultivars1 from breeding programs would almost completely replace native cultivars maintained by farmers in centers of crop origin (Brush, 2004). However, the “wipe out” doom scenario did not fully fulfill itself and millions of farmers around the world still actively grow and maintain ancestral cultivars of diverse crop species. Nowadays in-situ conservation is valued as complementary to global ex-situ conservation. It supports ongoing crop evolution while maintaining dynamic indigenous knowledge systems that surround crop genetic resources (Frankel et al., 1995; Maxted et al., 1997; Soleri and Smith, 1999). The theoretical, conceptual and developmental framework of in-situ conservation is still evolving but has advanced considerably during the last decade (Alvarez et al., 2005; Bellon, 2001, 2004; Brush, 2004; CIP-UPWARD, 2003; de Boef, 2000; Jarvis et al., 2000a, 2000b; Maxted et al., 1997; Maxted et al., 2002). Brush (2000) distinguishes between two types of in-situ conservation. First, the persistence of crop genetic resources in areas where everyday practices of farmers maintain diversity on their farms. This type of in-situ conservation is “farmer-driven” and both a historical and ongoing phenomenon (Brush, 2000; Zimmerer, 1993). The second type concerns Research & Development (R&D) strategies designed to foment in-situ conservation by farmers. This type of in-situ conservation is “externally driven” and implemented by special projects, NGO’s and governmental agencies, among others. The two types of in-situ conservation are connected in the sense that the success of externally driven strategies arguably depends on a good understanding of farmer-driven in-situ conservation. The other way around, the impact of externally driven strategies on farmer-driven in-situ conservation should preferably be well understood so that R&D interventions can become increasingly intelligent and targeted.