General introduction

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) defined in situ conservation of agrobiodiversity as being the conservation of domesticated and cultivated species in the surroundings where they have developed their distinctive properties (CBD, 1992a). Defining in situ conservation of agrobiodiversity was the first step, but the major challenge over the past two decades has been its translation into conservation practices that fit in the context of the livelihoods of small-scale, and often poor, farmers (Jarvis et al., 2011). How to implement in situ conservation of agrobiodiversity onfarm has been much debated. It became gradually clear that the flexible nature of farmers’ management and utilization of crops and local varieties did not match the perspective of conservationists in their design of in situ conservation on-farm (Hardon and De Boef, 1993). Part of the problem was that the various organizations involved with agrobiodiversity conservation had contrasting objectives with regards to the implementation of this conservation strategy (De Boef, 2000). Those organizations dedicated to the conservation of plant genetic resources (PGR) focused on supporting farming communities to continue to use local varieties. Activist nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) aimed to contribute to the empowerment of farming communities to exercise their (farmers’) rights, for example, by addressing their access to and control over local PGR. Development organizations (NGOs) incorporated conservation strategies in their efforts to contribute to sustainable livelihoods.