Seeds of Suicide
The Ecological and Human Costs of Globalisation of Agriculture
Farmers have for millennia studied, identified, modified, cultivated and exchanged seeds freely in order that they may provide for themselves the best for their utilisation. In this capacity the farmer has always been a scientific plant breeder. Farmers have traditionally conserved and developed this diversity in their fields through on-going cultivation of the varieties.
As the farmer produced mainly for the family, the village, and then the rest of the world, with the main vision being sustainability of both lifestyle, and nature (including land and water resources), it was in his interest to conserve the plant varieties developed by him. Genetic diversity is essential in agriculture for developing plants with characteristics to suit the ecological conditions, nutritional needs and other uses by farmers and for conferring at least partial resistance to diseases.
Therefore, it is important to understand biodiversity in its totality and not just in terms of food crops alone. There exists a symbiotic relationship in the ecological niche in which the crops grow. Diversity plays an important role in nutrient cycling, controlling insect population and plant disease. Thus, on-field conservation of all diverse plant wealth is imperative for sustainable agriculture.
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