By Shoba Suri
With its extensive and diverse agrocological zones, China is one of the 12 global hotspots for agricultural biodiversity. This wealth – embedded in the country's diverse landscapes and cultures – has supported conventionally food and nutritional security for a population of over 1.4 billion inhabitants. However, the rapid modernization, industrial agriculture and climate change suppress China's agrobiodiversity and make it difficult to achieve sustainable agriculture and nutritional security.
One of the most symbolic examples of China's agrobiodiversity – which has been developed in the past 1300 years and has been distributed over 16,603 hectares – is the Honghe Hani -Treister breeds in the province of Yunnan. These systems embody a demanding form of ecological engineering, which was refined by the Hani population over generations and promoted by close interaction with their surroundings.
The rice-fish-dent symbiosis shown below is a circular, integrated and adult agricultural practice. In this model, rice and support for rice and support fish and ducks, which expands the natural process and fertilization processes. This approach reduces the dependence on chemical inputs, promotes biological diversity and offers various sources for food and income. Apart from their productive value, such systems also preserve local culture, promote community work and confirm traditional ecological knowledge.
For China, the nutritional dimension of agrobiodiversity, including various plants, cattle and microorganisms, is also significant. In many ways, the green revolution of China is in the foreground of technological innovations that promote sustainable agricultural practices. Traditional, nutrient-rich usable boxes such as barley, buckwheat, millet, oats and Sorghum ——–, played a food role and food security in China.
Agrobiodiversity also plays a central role in the seed systems that substantiate agricultural resilience. Chinese hosts one of the world's largest and most advanced seed/germ plasma collections to improve capacity in the development of new cultures and nutritional certainty. The sowing banks in China are maintained by the efforts of maintaining and circulating local landing, maintaining certain microclimate and cultural needs and thereby enabling rural communities to ensure seed and food sovereignty.
Despite his potential, China's agrobiodiversity is considerably threatened by agricultural intensification and genetic erosion of traditional varieties. The biological variants of agricultural landscapes have further introduced further urbanization and changes in land use. The loss of traditional knowledge, which is of rural importance due to generation and migration, is a critical risk that valuable ecological and agricultural knowledge will be forgotten.
The political landscape offers both opportunities and challenges for the preservation and use of agrobiodiversity. China's “ecological civilization” framework – embedded in its national development strategy – has recognized the importance of biological diversity for promoting environmental care. Programs such as “Grain for Green”, the restoration of arable land in the forest or grassland and the promotion of agricultural practices in some regions signal a shift to more biological -sensitive approaches. However, these efforts often remain fragmented and sometimes exceeded by the economic incentives for the preference for industrial agriculture.
A promising direction is explicitly in the integration of agrobiodiversity in national guidelines for food and nutritional security. For example, public procurement systems, school feeding programs and markets could be used to support the cultivation and consumption of traditional and non -used plants. In addition, nutritional guidelines and messaging for public health can promote the variety of food that is based in cultural traditions. This would not only improve nutrition, but also create market incentives for biological diverse-friendly agriculture.
It is equally important to improve the participation of farmers in the preservation of biological diversity. Farmers are not only beneficiaries of technologies or guidelines – they are active administrators of agrobiodiversity. The “Seed to Table” initiative in East China aims to promote sustainable agricultural systems and to strengthen the connection between the community and markets. Participatory plantings, community seeds and farmer Field Schools are valuable platforms to create knowledge together, strengthen seed networks and enable adaptive management of the variety of harvest. These initiatives in China's ethnic minorities are of crucial importance in which the biological diversity and the cultural heritage are closely interwoven.
Technological innovations also offer potential to support agrobiodiversity. Mobile platforms can facilitate the exchange, water management, the weather forecast and monitoring biological diversity. The digital documentation of traditional knowledge and the establishment of open source seeds databases can help to bridge generation differences in order to ensure the continuity of agricultural knowledge. However, the takeover of such tools must ensure fair access and prioritize the needs of small farmers and border builders.
In summary, agrobiodiversity is not just a relic of the agricultural past of China, but a strategic capital for its future. If the country deals with climate change, environmental deterioration and nutritional conversion, the use of its rich biodiversity can help to build up a more sustainable, integrative and resilient food system. The landscapes, seeds and knowledge of the terrace of Yunnan, embedded in China's agrobiodiversity, to the cold-tolerant seed banks from Harbin-solely solutions that are locally but globally relevant. Agrobiodiversity must be built into sustainable food systems through integrated political measures and a wide social engagement. It is not just an insurance against future crises, but the livelihood of daily food production and the livelihood of agriculture.
- About the author: Shoba Suri is Senior Fellow at the health initiative of the Observer Research Foundation.
- Sourcel This article was published by the Observer Research Foundation