Farmers' experience and traditional practices in crop utilization is believed to be the main driver of diversity maintenance since a long time. However, challenges are influencing rural farmers to continue conserving their plant materials to the future. Thus appropriate policy measures should be devised to gear agriculture to sustainable practices. However, this could be made possible if farmers are willing to continue on holding land races at hand.
I think it is important to always keep a farmer training on the importance of biodiversity conservation to maintain the equilibrium of agricultural production in rural areas. The election must be held in anticipation of the consequence in the long term agriculture based on Genetically modified inputs which makes the farmer depedant a distribution center input that represents a vicious circle that the farmer arrives never get out.
Money. ;-)
(but also not time consuming, but easy to understand schemes which have reliable success)
There are many modern practices which can maintain soil quality and at the same time farmers prefer the practices as they require low cost for the same amount of output. For example, use minimum tillage and herbicide. Crop residues will be mixed up with the soil to sustain it productivity. Minimum tillage is less expensive than traditional practices. As the productivity remains the same in the short run, farmers make profit from low input use. This type of practices should be promoted for sustainable use of agricultural resources.
Check out http://www.partnersforconservation.org/ You might want to email them directly as I know they can be a great source of information if you chat with them about specific questions.
I feel the first step would be to encourage farming practices that are more oriented towards conservation such as minimum tillage or conservation agriculture, cover crops but also promoting polyculture rather than continuous monoculture. Minimum soil disturbances through minimum tillage/CA and cover crops reduces soil erosion thereby maintaining species diversity and function. As crop residues and covers crops are continually being incorporated into the soil they build soils organic matter in which different micro and macro fauna flourishes and thrives. By encouraging CA farmer no longer burn the residues which is better for conservation of biodiversity. Fire destroys larvas and even soil, crawling and flying organisms. In the event of polyculture, when farmer are encouraged to practice mixed cropping system they automatically increases biological diversity because already different types of crops are produced within a farm. On the other hand semi perennial and perennial crops provides food and habitant to different types of flying animals such as birds and insects.
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