Seeds of Life : Women and Agricultural Biodiversity in Africa
One of the down-sides of worldwide agricultural development, has been the replacement of native plant species by marketable crops, accompanied by a reduction in the diversity of the seed stock. This accounts for the disappearance of plants with pot...
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2000/08/1671233/seeds-life-women-agricultural-biodiversity-africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10815 |
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okr-10986-108152021-06-14T11:01:49Z Seeds of Life : Women and Agricultural Biodiversity in Africa Easton, Peter Ronald, Margaret WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES SEEDLINGS MEDICINAL PLANTS CASH CROPS GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE BEANS DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS MAIZE AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION MONOCULTURE GENDER RESEARCH AFRICAN RICE AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AGRICULTURAL RESEARCHERS AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES BEANS BIODIVERSITY CASH CROPS CIAT CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE COMMERCIALIZATION COTTON CROP CROPPING CROPS CULTIVATION DIET DIETS DISASTERS DOMESTICATED SPECIES DOMESTICATION FAMILIES FARMER FARMERS FARMING FEED FERTILITY FOOD CROPS GENDER GENETIC DIVERSITY GERM PLASM GERMPLASM GRAINS GROWING SEASON INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE INDIGENOUS SPECIES INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR TROPICAL AGRICULTURE IVORY LANDRACES LEGUMES MAIZE MAIZE PRODUCTION MIGRATION MILLET MOTHERS NATIVE SPECIES NGOS NUTRITION PARTNERSHIP PLANT BREEDING PLANTING POTATOES PRODUCE RICE ROOTS RURAL POPULATION SEED SEEDS SISAL SOILS SORGHUM SPECIES TOMATOES TROPICAL AGRICULTURE TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS TUBERS VARIETY WAGENINGEN AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY WARDA WASTE WILD PLANTS WOMEN FARMERS WORKERS One of the down-sides of worldwide agricultural development, has been the replacement of native plant species by marketable crops, accompanied by a reduction in the diversity of the seed stock. This accounts for the disappearance of plants with potential medicinal uses, particularly in high biodiversity areas, and, the crowding out of native diversity of edible species by standard, sometimes genetically altered by commercial farming demands, is an equally serious problem. Indigenous knowledge of edible plants is one key "pool" of biodiversity in Africa - one in which women play a vital role. The note looks at bean farming in Kenya, where evidence shows that in pre-colonial times a large variety of bean species was cultivated, which constituted a critical element of rural people's diet, and a rich source of protein. Traditionally, women grew, and conserved multiple seed stocks, as a hedge against disease, and unpredictable climate changes. However, the colonial agricultural extension service eliminated multi-cropping - a phenomenon that brought negative consequences for nutrition, biodiversity, and soil fertility. This case unfortunately was not an isolated one, though fortunately efforts to coordinate a participatory research program on gender roles in agriculture, and plant breeding are underway, headed by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). 2012-08-13T13:11:31Z 2012-08-13T13:11:31Z 2000-08 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2000/08/1671233/seeds-life-women-agricultural-biodiversity-africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10815 English Indigenous Knowledge (IK) Notes; No. 23 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Brief Publications & Research Africa Kenya |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English |
| topic |
WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES SEEDLINGS MEDICINAL PLANTS CASH CROPS GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE BEANS DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS MAIZE AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION MONOCULTURE GENDER RESEARCH AFRICAN RICE AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AGRICULTURAL RESEARCHERS AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES BEANS BIODIVERSITY CASH CROPS CIAT CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE COMMERCIALIZATION COTTON CROP CROPPING CROPS CULTIVATION DIET DIETS DISASTERS DOMESTICATED SPECIES DOMESTICATION FAMILIES FARMER FARMERS FARMING FEED FERTILITY FOOD CROPS GENDER GENETIC DIVERSITY GERM PLASM GERMPLASM GRAINS GROWING SEASON INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE INDIGENOUS SPECIES INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR TROPICAL AGRICULTURE IVORY LANDRACES LEGUMES MAIZE MAIZE PRODUCTION MIGRATION MILLET MOTHERS NATIVE SPECIES NGOS NUTRITION PARTNERSHIP PLANT BREEDING PLANTING POTATOES PRODUCE RICE ROOTS RURAL POPULATION SEED SEEDS SISAL SOILS SORGHUM SPECIES TOMATOES TROPICAL AGRICULTURE TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS TUBERS VARIETY WAGENINGEN AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY WARDA WASTE WILD PLANTS WOMEN FARMERS WORKERS |
| spellingShingle |
WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY CASE STUDIES SEEDLINGS MEDICINAL PLANTS CASH CROPS GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE BEANS DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS MAIZE AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION MONOCULTURE GENDER RESEARCH AFRICAN RICE AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AGRICULTURAL RESEARCHERS AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES BEANS BIODIVERSITY CASH CROPS CIAT CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE COMMERCIALIZATION COTTON CROP CROPPING CROPS CULTIVATION DIET DIETS DISASTERS DOMESTICATED SPECIES DOMESTICATION FAMILIES FARMER FARMERS FARMING FEED FERTILITY FOOD CROPS GENDER GENETIC DIVERSITY GERM PLASM GERMPLASM GRAINS GROWING SEASON INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE INDIGENOUS SPECIES INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR TROPICAL AGRICULTURE IVORY LANDRACES LEGUMES MAIZE MAIZE PRODUCTION MIGRATION MILLET MOTHERS NATIVE SPECIES NGOS NUTRITION PARTNERSHIP PLANT BREEDING PLANTING POTATOES PRODUCE RICE ROOTS RURAL POPULATION SEED SEEDS SISAL SOILS SORGHUM SPECIES TOMATOES TROPICAL AGRICULTURE TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS TUBERS VARIETY WAGENINGEN AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY WARDA WASTE WILD PLANTS WOMEN FARMERS WORKERS Easton, Peter Ronald, Margaret Seeds of Life : Women and Agricultural Biodiversity in Africa |
| geographic_facet |
Africa Kenya |
| relation |
Indigenous Knowledge (IK) Notes; No. 23 |
| description |
One of the down-sides of worldwide
agricultural development, has been the replacement of native
plant species by marketable crops, accompanied by a
reduction in the diversity of the seed stock. This accounts
for the disappearance of plants with potential medicinal
uses, particularly in high biodiversity areas, and, the
crowding out of native diversity of edible species by
standard, sometimes genetically altered by commercial
farming demands, is an equally serious problem. Indigenous
knowledge of edible plants is one key "pool" of
biodiversity in Africa - one in which women play a vital
role. The note looks at bean farming in Kenya, where
evidence shows that in pre-colonial times a large variety of
bean species was cultivated, which constituted a critical
element of rural people's diet, and a rich source of
protein. Traditionally, women grew, and conserved multiple
seed stocks, as a hedge against disease, and unpredictable
climate changes. However, the colonial agricultural
extension service eliminated multi-cropping - a phenomenon
that brought negative consequences for nutrition,
biodiversity, and soil fertility. This case unfortunately
was not an isolated one, though fortunately efforts to
coordinate a participatory research program on gender roles
in agriculture, and plant breeding are underway, headed by
the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). |
| format |
Publications & Research :: Brief |
| author |
Easton, Peter Ronald, Margaret |
| author_facet |
Easton, Peter Ronald, Margaret |
| author_sort |
Easton, Peter |
| title |
Seeds of Life : Women and Agricultural Biodiversity in Africa |
| title_short |
Seeds of Life : Women and Agricultural Biodiversity in Africa |
| title_full |
Seeds of Life : Women and Agricultural Biodiversity in Africa |
| title_fullStr |
Seeds of Life : Women and Agricultural Biodiversity in Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Seeds of Life : Women and Agricultural Biodiversity in Africa |
| title_sort |
seeds of life : women and agricultural biodiversity in africa |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2012 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2000/08/1671233/seeds-life-women-agricultural-biodiversity-africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10815 |
| _version_ |
1764414479042347008 |