Securing the genetic resource base of Indigenous plants species: A Community Biodiversity Conservation Initiative

We have developed a manual which can help smallholder women farmers replicate the solutions in the South West of Nigeria. At the national level, collaborating with policy makers to include indigenous food plants as key components of in the School feeding programs as well as the Anchor borrowers programme for micro-credits. Our Seed bank Open day programmes provide avenues for exchange and display of seed diversity as well as a model for local seed bank scale up to a national project for the conservation of a larger number of wild crop relatives in Nigeria. We are currently advocating at the National legislature to provide legislative laws on the inclusion of Indigenous food plants to the Nigerian Food policy programme. These initiatives when pulled together will contribute significantly to indigenous Plant Species Conservation.

With limited access to land, women are still custodians of Biodiversity with Knowledge to bolster food security. 65% of the participating community members were women. 53% ages 40-65, 47% ages 18-39. Women participation was supported by their husbands. This saw more women take decision on dietary requirements for their families and strong participatory roles in management and benefits sharing. 

Households created small/medium-sized enterprises for steady economic growth which put less pressure to their surrounding forest. As a result of less pressure on the forest for livelihood, new revenue streams are up and running. Local base ecosystems have facilitated growth not only within the Forest Community but beyond, creating opportunities for decent work. Achieving social inclusion was to emphasize “local ownership”. Setting up spaces for dialogue that allowed for the active and inclusive participation of local people ensured that priorities were determined locally and that local concerns were at the core of all activities.