Enhancing Biodiversity Through Market-Based Strategy: Organic Agriculture
Mondeil, Marie; Setboonsarng, Sununtar | October 2009
Abstract
The diversity of plant genetic resources (PGR) from which the world’s food crops are derived is steadily declining, due in part to the reliance of modern agriculture on a limited number of improved varieties. This erosion of genetic variation can lead to increased vulnerability to plant pests and diseases as well as to the potential loss of future varieties that will be required to meet the challenges brought about by climate change. Having recognized that the protection and sustainable management of PGR is critical to ensuring food security and alleviating poverty, governments and the international community have used public funds to establish seed banks and protected areas in an effort to preserve the existing PGR. However, given their small scope and susceptibility to genetic drift, the effectiveness of these public efforts may be limited. The vast majority of remaining PGR diversity is in the hands of smallholder farmers in remote areas of developing countries who cultivate a wide array of traditional varieties. This paper argues that a comprehensive system of market-based incentives is necessary to ensure that smallholder farmers continue to conserve plant genetic resources. Promoting certified organic agriculture has emerged as one of the most promising market-based development strategies for protecting PGR diversity. By providing incentives in the form of premium prices as a form of payment for environmental services, farmers are encouraged to adopt sustainable cultivation of local varieties and thus maintain high levels of biodiversity, without a burden on public expenditures.
Citation
Mondeil, Marie; Setboonsarng, Sununtar. 2009. Enhancing Biodiversity Through Market-Based Strategy: Organic Agriculture. © Asian Development Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/11540/3743. License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.Keywords
Agriculture
Women in agriculture
Sustainable agriculture
Commercial agriculture
Climate
Climate change
Climate impacts assessment
Global climate change
Investment climates
Agricultural statistics
Sustainable development
Agribusiness
Agricultural trade
Agricultural economy
Agricultural product marketing
Agricultural products
Climatic change
Climatic influence
Climatic
Climatology
Global commons
Ozone depletion
Investment analysis
Investment bank
Investment dispute
Investment policy
Investment return
Agricultural information network
Agricultural processing industry
New agricultural enterprise
Produce trade
Export
Import
International competition
Commercial policy
International trade
Economic policy
Foreign investment
Ratio analysis
Risk return relationship
Wind
Ozone layer
Investment
Bank and banking
Speculation
Climate change mitigation
Global temperature change
Precipitation anomaly
Precipitation variability
Goat farming
Green Revolution
Harvesting
Herb farming
Hill farming
Land capability for agriculture
Livestock
Traditional farming
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http://hdl.handle.net/11540/3743Metadata
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