Agricultural Biodiversity

The Agro-biodiversity programme concentrates on the conservation and sustainable management of plant genetic resources in promoting food and nutrition security. Smallholder farmers are supported to safeguard, use, and develop Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGFRA) to ensure availability of long-term quality seed, food and nutrition security and mitigation measures that promote adaptation to climatic changes. Key functions of the department are to support farmers in participatory plant breeding, seed production and marketing, promotion of nutrition, production, and utilisation of traditional and indigenous crop varieties, support the realisation of farmers rights and management of community seed banks in preserving agricultural species. The programme also collaborates with farmers, communities, and other stakeholders to promote on-farm conservation practices, water harvesting using the Farmer Field School approaches to facilitate knowledge exchange and capacity building activities.