United NationsDevelopment Programme

South East Asia

HIV and Development Programme

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A Joint Publication of UNDP and FAO

Plant Diversity, Sustainable Rural Livelihoodsand the HIV/AIDS Crisis

June 2004

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Plant Diversity, Sustainable Rural Livelihoodsand the HIV/AIDS Crisis

By: Josep A. GaríFood security and HIV/AIDS specialistFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Manager: Lee-Nah HsuBuilding Regional HIV Resilience

UNDP South East Asia HIV and Development Programme

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Copyright © UNDP, FAO 2004All rights reserved.

Printed in Bangkok, Thailand.

Copyright of the United Nations Development Programme and the Food and Agricul-ture Organization of the United Nations. All rights reserved. This publication maybe quoted, reproduced or translated, in part or in full, provided the source isacknowledged. It may not be reproduced for any commercial use without the priorwritten approval of UNDP and FAO.

Contact information: Lee-Nah Hsu, ManagerBuilding Regional HIV ResilienceUNDP South East Asia HIV and Development Programme

Josep A. GaríFood security and HIV/AIDS specialistFAO

E-mail addresses: leenah.hsu@undp.org, josep.gari@fao.org

Cover photos: Josep A. Garí

Note on the cover

The cover pictures show a girl with fonio in Mali (left) and a boy with buckwheatgrains in China (right). Fonio (Digitaria exilis) and buckwheat (Fagopyrum spp.) aretraditional crops of the Sahel region in Africa and of southern Asia, respectively.Each crop is connected to customary practices for food security and ecologicaladaptation. The pictures illustrate the importance of local plant diversity in nutrition,rural livelihoods and for safeguarding the basis for social reproduction. Many localplant resources such as these are neglected and rapidly losing ground, yet theirrevitalization would reveal ways for food security and livelihood that are viable inecological, economical and cultural terms.

United Nations ESCAP Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Plant Diversity, Sustainable Rural Livelihoods and the HIV/AIDS Crisis / Josep A. Garí.Bangkok: UNDP; Rome: FAO, 2004.iv, 26 p. (Building Regional HIV Resilience: UNDP South East Asia HIV andDevelopment Programme).

Includes bibliographical references.ISBN: 974-92021-4-7

1. AIDS. 2. Agriculture. 3. Rural Development. 4. Sustainable Development.5. Agrobiodiversity.

UDC 616.39-097 (1-94) UNDP pl

The views expressed and terminology used in this publication do not necessarily representthose of the member countries of the UNDP Executive Board or of the institutions of theUnited Nations system. The designations and terminology employed and the presentationof material do not imply any expression of opinion whatsoever on the part of the UnitedNations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of itsauthorities, or of its frontiers or boundaries.

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FOREWORD

A large proportion of the estimated 1,500 million small farmers in the South face foodinsecurity, live in marginal environments and are highly vulnerable to the impact of HIV/AIDS. The responses of the agricultural sector are often conceived of outside thecommunity context and neglect the local resource base, both natural and cultural.However, increased attention should be given to the potential of local plant diversity(agrobiodiversity) for marginalized rural communities to combat malnutrition, agriculturalconstraints and the HIV/AIDS crisis as well as to enhance sustainable livelihoods.

This paper outlines an agrobiodiversity strategy with the following components: tradi-tional, neglected and under-utilized crops; agricultural diversification; home gardens; wildfood plants; medicinal plants; and community seed systems. The mobilization andimprovement of these resources would be instrumental in expanding the options andmeans of small farmers to enhance their agricultural and livelihood systems. Plantresources are locally available, affordable, easy to deploy, versatile and remarkablyconnected to the ecological and cultural realities of small farmers. They are essential todevise agroecological practices that can improve natural resource management, householdnutrition and the engagement of farmers in agricultural innovation. This approach is alsoresponsive to the most pressing needs of HIV/AIDS-affected and other vulnerablehouseholds, in particular those with a shortage of productive resources (such as labour,cash, seed or fertile land).

The proposed agrobiodiversity strategy is particularly relevant in the context of theagricultural sector’s response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. In rural communities, the improveduse of plant resources can contribute to the prevention of HIV (through reducing thelivelihood vulnerabilities that often spread HIV/AIDS), the care of people living withHIV/AIDS (through improved nutrition and the use of medicinal plants) and the mitigationof the impact of HIV/AIDS on development (through supporting agricultural practices thathelp rural people to cope with the impacts of the pandemic on labour, householdeconomies and the social fabric). The proposed agrobiodiversity strategy is also useful toenhance the capacities of impoverished rural communities to confront and address theircomplex food, environmental and development crisis.

One of the principal strengths of the proposed agrobiodiversity strategy is that it does notrely on anything new and is readily implementable. Its raw materials are the establishedknowledge and resources of those it is intended to serve. The aim is to propose areorientation of rural development strategies towards optimizing the use of locallyavailable skills and resources. This can have a significant impact on the food security,health and livelihoods of rural communities and can assist in mitigating the impacts ofcrises such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This approach would boost agricultural develop-ment in ways that are ecologically and socially sound and, at the same time, morepractical and promising in terms of their chances for success.

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CONTENTS

Page

Foreword ....................................................................................................................... iii

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1

I. HIV/AIDS and the agricultural sector ............................................................ 2

II. An agrobiodiversity strategy to combat food insecurity and HIV/AIDS ... 4

1. Traditional, neglected and under-utilized crops ............................................ 5

2. Agricultural diversification ............................................................................. 8

3. Home gardens ................................................................................................. 10

4. Wild food plants ............................................................................................. 14

5. Medicinal plants .............................................................................................. 15

6. Community seed systems ............................................................................... 17

III. Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 20

Annex. List of plant resources mentioned ............................................................. 22

References ...................................................................................................................... 24

Introduction

In an era dominated by the processes of globalization, millions of marginalized ruralpeople face a complex set of economic, social, environmental and health crises that impairtheir lives and development prospects. Food insecurity and malnutrition distress countlessrural households and communities (FAO, 2003a). The majority of the rural population inthe South remains trapped in poverty and social exclusion, whilst policies and investmentstend to focus on urban areas, industrial endeavours and agribusiness development. Themodernization of agriculture may increase the potential availability of food and the levelsof food trade, but generally does not meet the basic agricultural, nutrition and livelihoodneeds of most small farmers. It is estimated that around 1,500 million small farmers livein marginal environments and lack policy and technical support for their indigenousfarming systems (Altieri, 2002a). Agricultural modernization also accelerates environmen-tal degradation and dislocates the cultural dynamics that have sustained the agri-culture ofthose farmers: agrobiodiversity and indigenous knowledge are major victims.

HIV/AIDS is the latest of the development crises affecting the rural milieu. It has alreadyhad devastating impacts on many impoverished rural communities and is threatening manyothers. This is particularly problematic in regions where intense poverty and socialinequalities fuel a rapid and fatal propagation of the pandemic, such as Sub-SaharanAfrica, southern Asia and the Caribbean. Sub-Saharan Africa (with an estimate of 28million infected people) and Asia (with an estimate of 7 million infected people) accountfor over 85 per cent of infections worldwide and most of the millions of orphans causedby this pandemic (UNAIDS, 2003). These two regions also have the highest proportionsof rural people in the world. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is rapidly expanding in the ruralworld, where information and the capacities to respond are more limited. In ruralcommunities, HIV/AIDS dislocates productive activities, increases poverty, aggravates foodinsecurity and creates despair for millions of people (FAO, 2003b). Women and childrenoften bear the largest burden of these impacts.

These economic, social, environmental and health crises that affect so many ruralcommunities demand an urgent revision of agricultural development strategies. Priorityattention should focus on the conditions of small farmers living in marginal environments,especially with regard to their food and nutrition security, their ability to advancesustainable agriculture and their capacity to respond to crises such as HIV/AIDS. Thegenuine empowerment of farmers and communities is indispensable to ensure that they leaddevelopment. An agroecological approach is required to balance the productive needs ofcountries and households with the social, cultural and ecological dimensions of agriculture.Farmers need responses that enhance their information and understanding about principlesand methods that are environmentally, socio-economically and culturally responsive.

This paper examines agrobiodiversity (focusing on plant diversity) for its role ingrassroots responses for nutrition, sustainable rural livelihoods and the mitigation of theHIV/AIDS crisis in rural communities. The paper derives from the background study“Agrobiodiversity strategies to combat food insecurity and HIV/AIDS impact in ruralAfrica” (Garí, 2003) that was carried out in the framework of FAO and based on fieldresearch in Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper also draws on fieldwork in South-East Asia,particularly in the Philippines in 2001 and south-west China in 2003. Field research inAfrica and Asia employed ethno-ecology methods and participatory approaches.

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I. HIV/AIDS and the agricultural sector1

HIV/AIDS is not just a public health concern but also a critical development issue,particularly for the rural poor. HIV/AIDS poses fatal health and development impacts onpoor people. Poverty and hunger accelerate the spread of HIV and the lethal course of thedisease (FAO, 2003a). A number of underdevelopment factors increase the vulnerability toHIV/AIDS, including chronic poverty, lack of basic social services (e.g. health care, publicinformation), gender inequalities, mobility (e.g. migration, displacement) and civil strife.Sadly, these conditions are widespread in the rural world of developing countries.Accordingly, building sustainable rural livelihoods is a critical response to HIV/AIDS. Inparticular, efforts to achieve food and nutrition security, resilient income sources andcommunity cohesion can reduce the vulnerability of poor rural populations to HIV/AIDS.

Once HIV/AIDS pervades an impoverished rural household, thedisease severely undermines its labour and economic systems.HIV/AIDS dislocates agricultural practices, reduces productivity,causes rapid impoverishment and leads to food insecurity (FAO,2003b; FAO, 2003c). The pandemic also increases the number andproportion of vulnerable population groups in the rural milieu, suchas orphans, sick people, female-headed households and elders withresponsibility to care for children and the sick. In addition, manyrural communities become informal hospices for poor urban peoplethat suffer from AIDS and return to their original homes forconvalescing (this occurs because urbanization is a recent processand close links have been maintained between urban populationsand rural communities). In the long term, the HIV/AIDS pandemicdislocates social reproduction systems, such as community dyna-mics and the transmission of indigenous knowledge from parentsto children. In particular, deaths and sickness reduce the amountand quality of time that parents can spend in the fields with theirchildren, where primary agricultural learning happens.

The impacts of HIV/AIDS on agriculture, local economies andsocial dynamics of rural people require multisectoral responses.The agricultural sector has a critical role to play (Box 1), especiallywith regard to nutrition, food security and building resilient

Register of orphans ina village in Dodoma(Tanzania, 2001).

livelihoods. Development interventions should be sensitive to labour and economicconstraints (whereas typically they are labour and capital intensive). In addition, buildingsocial capital is critical to reduce the impacts of the pandemic on the social fabric and toenhance local responses. From a more hopeful perspective, AIDS represents an opportunityfor crafting sustainable rural livelihoods. A more efficient and sustainable use of labour,economic and natural resources is required, because these are scarce and vulnerable.

1 The author is very grateful to the fieldwork collaboration of many farmers and farmer organizations inSub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia. He also wishes to acknowledge the useful contributions of ClareBishop, Jacques du Guerny, Lee-Nah Hsu, Robert Lettington, Niels Louwaars and Marcela Villarreal. He isalso grateful to the technical collaboration of CBIK (China), FAO, Farmer Field Schools Programme (EastAfrica), MASIPAG (Philippines), TAWLAE (Tanzania) and THETA (Uganda). He finally wishes toacknowledge the financial support of FAO, UNDP South East Asia HIV and Development Programme andthe Ecological Economics Research Group of Barcelona for research missions in Africa and Asia. Thepictures were taken by the author with due permission from local people and community organizations.

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Box 1. Role of the agricultural sector in addressing HIV/AIDS

Prevention

• Strengthening the resilience of agricultural systems and creating reliable incomesources. This will reduce responses to hunger and poverty that pose a high risk ofHIV infection, such as migration and engaging in commercial sex as survival strategy.

• Review and revise agricultural policies, programmes and practices with regard to theircontribution to social capital. This is necessary in the prevention of, and action tomitigate HIV/AIDS: for example, increasing social cohesion, raising collective aware-ness on the linkages between HIV/AIDS and development, and mobilizing communi-ties can reduce HIV-risky responses to poverty and destitution.

Care

• Nutrition is a relevant issue for people living with HIV/AIDS (FAO/WHO, 2002).International experts and local activists advocate that “nutrition is the first medicinefor HIV/AIDS”.

• Improving micronutrient intake can strengthen the immune system and thus assistpeople living with HIV/AIDS to control HIV infection and opportunistic diseases.

• Good nutrition and appropriate meals can help sick people to recover from diseasefaster and more completely.

• Nutrition is also critical because the HIV/AIDS pandemic increases the vulnerabilityof groups that are prone to malnutrition, such as households headed by orphans,women and elders.

• Using medicinal plants can be instrumental in the health care around HIV/AIDS.2

• Enhance psychosocial support to people and households affected by HIV/AIDSthrough projects and approaches that foster the integration of people affected by HIV/AIDS in the dynamics of their communities.

Mitigation

• Implement projects and practices that are responsive to labour shortages and poverty.This is relevant because HIV/AIDS creates labour shortages and undermines thehousehold economic security due to: (i) disproportionate levels of sickness and deathof productive members; (ii) need to divert time from agriculture and productiveactivities towards caring for the sick and orphans; and (iii) continual medical expenses.

• Foster the transmission of agricultural knowledge and skills, thus reversing the long-term and worrying effects of HIV/AIDS on social reproduction systems, particularlyamong the young.

Sources and further information: Various papers commissioned by FAO on HIV/AIDS andagriculture (see References); Barnett and Whiteside (2002); du Guerny (2002); duGuerny et al. (2002); FAO/WHO (2002); Garí (2003) and Hsu et al. (2002).

2 For more information, please see Indigenous South East Asian herbal remedies: Symptomatic relieffor People with HIV/AIDS. UNDP South East Asia HIV and Development Programme, August 2002,<http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Herbs.htm>.

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II. An agrobiodiversity strategy to combat food insecurity and HIV/AIDS

Food insecurity, the HIV/AIDS crisis and the consideration of the environmental andcultural variables require a new architecture of agricultural development. This paper willfirst examine the role of agrobiodiversity (in particular, plant diversity) in catalyzing thisnew architecture. Backed by FAO policy and programme efforts since the 1980s and theEarth Summit in 1992, agrobiodiversity has received increased attention and is alreadyinspiring innovative grassroots initiatives, research programmes, global environmentalactions and even international treaties (CIP, 2003; FAO, 2001; FAO, 2003d; Jianchu andMikesell, 2003; Posey, 1999). However, more resolute support in policies, researchprogrammes, agricultural extension services, rural investment projects, agricultural commerceand farmer initiatives are required.

Agrobiodiversity comprises the different biological resources that sustain agriculture and foodproduction, particularly crops, crop varieties, other useful plants and farm animals. Theseprovide the basis for nutrition, health care and livelihoods of many rural populations,especially for those living in marginal environments and under conditions of poverty andsocial exclusion. The management of agrobiodiversity is often connected to extensiveindigenous and local knowledge, which covers aspects like agroecological management, plantuses and food processing practices.

The fundamental roles of agrobiodiversity and indigenous knowledge in rural developmentsuffer from neglect, erosion and even discredit. For a long time, modern agricultural anddevelopment processes have impaired their recognition, conservation, use and improve-ment at the community level. This is partly a result of the narrow focus of developmentpolicies and projects on commercial agriculture, the use of material inputs and increasingthe yields of staple crops. As a consequence, rural people have even lost awareness of,and confidence in, their local agricultural and knowledge resources. They become moredependent on external resources, such as commercial seeds and market foods, and morevulnerable to social and natural crises. Currently, the realizationof the potential role of agrobiodiversity requires adequate policies,projects and practices. A better understanding of both the monetaryand non-monetary benefits of biodiversity is critical.

Mobilizing local resources, knowledge and capacities is a primaryand indispensable activity. This is sometimes the only tangibleoption for livelihood and development because rural investments arereduced, market integration is extremely uneven, the mechanismsfor the redistribution of wealth fail, and technical support increasinglyresponds to alien agendas. The deployment of an agrobiodiversitystrategy can directly serve impoverished rural households to addressfour major goals: nutrition, labour management, economic securityand sustainable agricultural management. The successful implemen-tation of this strategy relies on adopting agroecological approaches,pursuing gender equality and fostering community mobilization.3

Girl with palawan, atraditional rootcrop,in the uplands ofPanay Island (Philippines, 2001).

3 For more information, please see People’s Development: A community governance tool. UNDP SouthEast Asia HIV and Development Programme, July 2001, <http://www.hiv-development.org/publication/People-Development.htm>.

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The paper then explores the following strategic components of agrobiodiversity, concen-trating on plant diversity:

• Traditional, neglected and under-utilized crops

• Agricultural diversification

• Home gardens

• Wild food plants

• Medicinal plants

• Community seed systems

A summary diagram, which can also serve as a field leaflet, is presented in Box 2.

Box 2.An agrobiodiversity strategy

to combat food insecurity and HIV/AIDS impact

• diet diversification/improving micronutrient intake• optimal use of local crop and food resources• recognition and support for the roles of rural

women in agriculture, food production and nutrition• appropriate meals and diets for sick people• use of medicinal plants (primary health care)• nutrition as the first medicine for HIV/AIDS

• labour-saving practices/farm labour flexibility• options for farming under low-intensive labour• optimization and diffusion of labour inputs

• low-input agriculture: lower production costs,higher farm net incomes

• broader income and market alternatives• organic agriculture: inexpensive means for soil

fertilization and pest management• local seed access/farmer seed autonomy

• conservation of natural resources• environmental risk management (drought, pests)• use of marginal lands/coping with land shortages• transmission of agricultural resources and

knowledge to rural youth and children• participatory research/farmer experimentation• maintaining the basis for rural reconstruction

objectives

nutrition/health

farm labour

economic security

agriculturalmanagement

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TRADITIONAL, NEGLECTEDand UNDER-UTILIZED CROPS

• agroecological approaches• gender equality

• community mobilizationSource: Gari (2003)

AGRICULTURALDIVERSIFICATION

LIVESTOCK andAGROPASTORAL SYSTEMS

COMMUNITY SEED SYSTEMS

MEDICINAL PLANTS

WILD FOOD PLANTS

HOME GARDENS

1. Traditional, neglected and under-utilized crops

Traditional, neglected and under-utilized crops represent a rich portfolio of crop geneticresources that are notably disregarded in the agricultural development agenda. However,they show significant potential to enhance food security, improve nutrition, facilitateagroecological risk management, alleviate farm labour stresses, diversify income optionsand retrieve marginal lands into food production. They are also the basis for agriculturaldiversification practices, which reinforce these social and ecological services (on “agriculturaldiversification” see Chapter II.2).

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Traditional, neglected and under-utilized crops can inexpensively improve food securityand nutrition among small farmers. They comprise crops and crop varieties that canprovide essential nutrients, diversify local diets and help nourish children and sick people.For instance:

• Amaranth and many leguminous crops (such as cowpea and winged bean) are richsources of protein and key micronutrients.

• Certain traditional varieties of rice and sweet potato are very palatable, easilydigestible and very suitable to feed sick people.

• Excellent sources of micronutrients are found in Asian tropical fruit trees (e.g. citrustrees, mango, litchi) and in the rich diversity of African vegetables (e.g.cucurbitaceous crops).

• In Negros Island (Philippines), the tinangkong variety of sweet potato is notcultivated for its roots (which are small and inedible) but specifically for its darkgreen shoots and leaves, which are excellent sources of vitamin A.

• Fonio, as other neglected crops, is recommended for the diets of sick people, children,elders and lactating women due to its digestibility and superior nutritional properties.

Access and use of crop diversity also represent a practical mechanism to manage labourconstraints, via either labour-saving practices or optimizing labour inputs. Certain cropsand specific crop varieties require low-intensity or flexible labour inputs. For example:

• Some African and south Asian root crops usually require low-intensity labour inputsand some have no strict time for harvesting. They also provide more edible energyper hectare and per labour unit than cereal crops such as rice and wheat.

• Certain traditional maize, rice, groundnut and cucurbitaceous varieties are earlymaturing and, consequently, are critical for households facing food shortages (suchas households affected by HIV/AIDS or housing many children). Other maize andrice varieties are adapted to dry conditions and, therefore, provide farmers with thepossibility of farming in dry seasons or in drylands. This facilitates their labourmanagement whilst improving their options for food security.

• In central Uganda, the local Emoit and Erudurudu varieties of groundnut have avertical root structure that eases harvesting in terms of physical effort and time.

• Certain crop species and varieties have physical properties that allow them to suppressweeds and, therefore, save weeding labour. This is the case of the indigenous Africanrice crop in West Africa (especially when compared to the introduced Asian rice).

The use of crop diversity also broadens the options for agroecological management andhousehold economic security. For instance:

• There are traditional crops and specific crop varieties that are tolerant toagroecological constraints such as drought, local pests, poor soils or floodable lands.These crops allow for food production in marginal lands and help mitigate environ-mental risks. This enhances the resilience of agriculture and food security.

• There are many neglected crops and local varieties of staple crops that require fewmaterial inputs (fertilizers and pesticides). They suit farmers with limited cash andimprove the net economic returns of farming.

• The aroid crops (cocoyam, taro, tannia) often show excellent agroecological adapta-tion, particularly in poor soils and under water constraints.

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• Certain traditional rice varieties are adapted to drier ecosystems or to adverse climates.

• Some traditional and neglected crops are very appropriate for agroforestry, intercrop-ping systems and agricultural diversification practices.

• The use of genetically diversified rice crops (fields with mixed rice varieties) proves tolessen the overall incidence of rice blast (a major fungal disease) and increase the yieldsof blast-susceptible varieties, all without the need to use fungicides (Zhu et al., 2000).

• In villages around Laobo district (Yunnan, China), households maintain diversevarieties of soyabean to suit different agroecological conditions: in particular, theyhave varieties for lowlands, for drier uplands, for paddy rice fields (in rice-beanintercropping) and for growing soyabeans in the two local seasons.

• Many local varieties of finger millet grow well in marginal lands and provide goodquality proteins that critically complement the diets based on starchy foods (such ascassava and plantain). Their seeds can be preserved for long periods.

• Buckwheat is a traditional and neglected crop from south China and the Himalayanfoothills. However, it is well adapted to mountain areas and poor soils, and can beused to recover burned or degraded land. It has a short growing season that can serveto cope with food shortages and agricultural failure, to grow a second crop or toconduct summer fallows. In addition, buckwheat grains contain proteins of excellentquality, unlike most cereals and root crops. The properties of various traditional cropslike buckwheat are potentially useful to families that confront poverty, labour stressesor shortages of fertile land.

There are many neglected legume crops thatenrich soils and simultaneously provide humanfood and fodder of high quality. They evenhave comparative advantages to the major le-gume crops (common bean, groundnut andsoyabean) in terms of their environmental adap-tation, nutritional values and versatile uses. Ingeneral, grain legumes have unique agriculturalfeatures due to their contribution to soil fertilitythrough the symbiotic fixation of nitrogen, theirconservation and efficient use of soil moisture

A farmer cultivatingthe bungoma varietyof sweet potato(Uganda, 2001). Thisvariety provides acontinuous yield, isdrought resistant andhas yellowish tubers,which are probablya good source ofvitamins.

through a deep root system and their role in human nutrition owing to high proteincontent (Mal, 1994). Legumes and cereal crops coevolved in the origins of agriculture:soyabean coevolved with rice in China; chick peas, lentils and peas with wheat and barleyin the Middle East; common bean with maize in America; and cowpea with sorghum inAfrica. The use of legume diversity thus provides numerous values, such as follows:

• Practically all grain legumes fix their own nitrogen, thereby reducing the economicand environmental costs of inorganic fertilizers, whilst contributing to soil conserva-tion and fertility.

• Grass pea is particularly adapted to poor soils and drought.

• Pigeon pea has good capacity to grow on hillsides and contribute to reclaim slopesfor agriculture.

• The use of legumes as cover crops, such as the velvet bean, represents aninexpensive means for soil conservation and fertilization (Buckles et al., 1998).

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• In general, grain legumes are the cheapest and simplest source of protein for poorurban and rural populations. They represent a promising resource for overall foodsecurity and rural incomes.

• Some of the less utilized legumes (such as grass pea, hyacinth bean, rice bean andwinged bean) are highly nutritious, even more than major grain legumes.

Finally, many neglected and under-utilized crops have untapped economic potential.Appropriate policies and projects would help farmers to overcome the technical, marketingor consumption constraints that impede their full commercialization. For instance:

• Many vegetable crops have potential in local and urban markets, if adequatehorticultural practices and marketing support were deployed.

• Many crops and farmer crop varietieshave poor market access or low marketvalue because of prejudices, ignoranceor mistrust among urban consumers.These barriers could be reducedthrough projects that supported con-sumer education, expanded entrepre-neurial networks and improved thecommercial quality of these products.

• Certain traditional crops and local cropvarieties, such as pearl millet and some

A farmer displaying thelocal teselemo variety ofwheat in East Tigray(Ethiopia, 2001).This variety is highlyappreciated by farmers(owing to its droughtresistance and adaptationto poor soils, amongother properties) but wasneglected in seed reliefprogrammes.

grain legumes, have excellent storage and preservation properties that could facilitatecommercial and income options among the rural poor.

• Women often hold extensive knowledge and skills for the preservation and process-ing of local and traditional crops. This knowledge is disregarded and undercontinued erosion, partly due to gender inequalities. However, it is highly relevantfor local food security and could contribute to broadening marketing options.

Box 3. Strategic values and options to be considered in the promotion andmobilization of traditional, neglected and under-utilized crops

• Enrich diets and improve nutrition.

• Manage labour shortages.

• Diversify the sources of household incomes.

• Devise agricultural practices that are responsive to household economic security andto the sustainable management of natural resources.

• Recognize and support the roles of rural women in food and agriculture, as they aresignificantly connected to knowledge and use of crop diversity. Stimulate the collectiveawareness and cooperation between men and women for the use of crop diversity.

2. Agricultural diversification

Agricultural diversification is the practice of creating ecological variability and dynamismin agricultural systems. It constitutes an agrobiodiversity component at an ecosystem scale.Examples include intercropping systems, maintaining crop genetic diversity in time and space,cover crops, crop rotations, crop-livestock integrated practices and agroforestry systems.

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Agricultural diversification mimics ecological processes and, consequently, improves thestability, resilience and sustainability of agroecosystems (Altieri, 2002b). In turn, agricul-tural production and food security improve. Traditional, neglected and under-utilizedcrops, as described in the previous section, are fundamental resources for agriculturaldiversification. Indigenous farming knowledge and modern agroecological researchtogether can provide useful conceptual and technical tools for agricultural diversification.

Agricultural diversification is instrumental in agroecological management, particularly inthe marginal lands and vulnerable environments that small farmers often occupy. Itenhances the efficient use of natural resources, such as water and soil. For instance:

• Intercropping systems capture and make better use of scarce water resources and soilnutrients thanks to the physical synergies involved.

• The use of leguminous crops, the introduction of cover crops and the integration offarm animals are practices that enhance nutrient recycling and add fertility to soils.

• In diversified agroecosystems, the interactions between species act as biologicalcontrol agents for pests and weeds.

• Crop diversification, including the use of crop rotations and cover crops, are thebasis for better land husbandry practices and no-till farming, which have provenbenefits in terms of labour saving (simpler land preparation), household economicsecurity (reduced use of chemical fertilizers) and ecological sustainability (soilconservation) (Pieri et. al., 2002).

• The diversity of crops and landraces represents an ecological (and inexpensive)insurance mechanism against unpredictable environmental problems, such as drought,flooding and pest incidence. In the words of farmers: “not all crops or varieties failto yield” (from a farmer field school in eastern Uganda).

In general, agricultural diversification provides farmers with an ecological means toenhance the management of natural resources and reduce the use of chemicals. Thisincreases environmental sustainability, safeguards the household economy and fostershealthier environments and diets for rural populations. These ecological dynamics inagricultural diversification contribute to alleviate labour and economic stresses, which areprevalent among many poor and vulnerable rural households, such as female-headedhouseholds and households affected by HIV/AIDS. For instance:

• Cereal-legume intercropping and home gardens represent a good use of scarce labourand land resources whilst broadening the sources of nutrition and income (on “homegardens” see Chapter II.3).

• Agroforestry offers the possibility of practices with no labour peaks, can widenincome opportunities and provides many nutritional and medicinal sources.

• Crop diversification allows practices of land husbandry and no-till farming thatsignificantly save labour during land preparation, whilst providing inexpensiveoptions for soil conservation and fertilization.

• Certain intercropping practices allow the concentration of production in a smallerland area, thus increasing the labour efficiency of land preparation and weeding.

• Diversified agroecosystems have ecological mechanisms for pest and weed controlthat reduce both labour inputs and financial expenses in chemicals.

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• Agricultural diversification is an effective strategy to cope with land shortages andmarginal environments. It is suited to the conditions of many HIV/AIDS-affectedfamilies, who often have little land to cultivate (owing to unfair land heritagesystems when relatives die) or are forced to cultivate poor lands closer to thehomestead (as a result of their lack of time and energy to go daily to the mainfields or more fertile lands).

• Finally, the diversification of crop and farm animal resources broadens incomeoptions and protects farmers against market failures in specific commodities.

Some recommendations and considerations for agricultural diversification are summarizedin Box 4.

Box 4. Some recommendations for agricultural diversification

• Work under the framework of the science of agroecology.

• Deploy agroecological innovations and diffuse projects and practices that have beensuccessful for small farmers and communities in marginal environments.

• Diversify farming systems and use crop diversity as a tool to optimize the use of landresources, improve the management of natural resources, reduce the need of materialinputs, use labour more efficiently, and accommodate gender differential needs infood and agriculture.

• Consider traditional polyculture and diversified systems as the basis for advancingagricultural diversification.

• Introduce practices and technologies that are location-specific and not capital-intensive.

• Consider nutrition, participatory approaches and gender in any intervention supportingagricultural diversification.

• Foster farmer-based and farmer-led experimentation with agricultural diversification.

3. Home gardens

Home gardens are distinctive and relatively small agricultural spaces that may contain notableplant diversity. They are useful sources of nutrition and income. However, home gardens andtheir potential crop diversity are frequently overlooked in agricultural programmes andpractices. They are often managed by women and tend to receive little technical support dueto gender biases. Trends for their simplification and intensification into commercial vegetableplots may be detrimental to their broader nutritional and agricultural roles.

Home gardens can accommodate a rich diversity of crops, such as leafy and fruitvegetables, fruit trees, legumes, root and tuber crops, herbs, spices and medicinal plants.This diversity results in a wide range of benefits, particularly in terms of nutrition, labourmanagement and income alternatives, particularly for rural women.

Home gardens and their associated plant diversity can provide various nutritional anddietary benefits. For example:

• Many of the plants suitable for home gardens represent important sources ofnutritious foods that complement staple foods (FAO, 1995). This includes foodswith high micronutrient value such as vitamins and minerals.

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• Vegetable, fruit and other horticultural crops can provide a wide range of micronutri-ents. This is particularly relevant for the health of vulnerable population groupssuch as children, pregnant and lactating women, and people living with HIV/AIDS.Promoting home gardening has already proven to be effective to control vitamin Adeficiencies in Thailand (Attig et al., 1993).

• Some crops and foods produced in home gardens are very useful to meet the specialdietary needs of people living with HIV/AIDS (FAO/WHO, 2002). In the firstplace, such crops can provide balanced nutrition and adequate micronutrient intakethat can strengthen the immune system of people living with HIV/AIDS, helpingthem to combat opportunistic diseases. Secondly, certain horticultural crops areappropriate for persons with sore mouth (e.g. squash), others ease the digestion (e.g.papaya), others contain fats that help reduce weight losses (e.g. avocado) and othersare useful against diarrhoea (e.g. some soft vegetables and fruits).

Accordingly, household nutrition should be a central factor in the development of homegardens, with specific attention to the food and dietary needs of vulnerable populationgroups. Home gardens can provide micronutrients in an inexpensive and simple way,especially when compared to exogenous interventions such as vitamin supplementprogrammes and nutrition-oriented transgenic initiatives (which pose much higher finan-cial, scientific, logistical and cultural problems). Communities in Sub-Saharan Africa andSouth-East Asia still hold countless minor crops that could raise nutrition levels and helperadicate micronutrient deficiencies through the development of home gardens and othersimilar agricultural spaces such as orchards, vegetable plots and fruit tree lanes. Well-targeted programmes, wider public awareness and the transfer of appropriate horticulturalpractices can enhance the linkages between home gardens and household nutrition.

The relations between home gardens and farm labour deserve special attention. Labourinputs in home gardens depend on many factors, such as their area, crops involved, seasonand water needs. However, the following considerations are responsive to householdsaffected by labour stresses, such as female-headed and HIV/AIDS-affected households:

• Home gardens tend to be flexible in labour requirements, unlike many field cropsthat require intensive labour in specific periods (labour peaks).

• The labour/output ratio of home gardens tends to be favourable compared to otherproduction systems.

• The limited size and agroecological dynamics of home gardens facilitate soil, waterand weed management. For instance, the use of organic manure and simple waterharvesting practices are very feasible in home gardens.

• The location of home gardens, often close to the homestead, makes them anagricultural space that is responsive to women’s workloads. Such a location iscompatible with domestic tasks like caring for the children and the sick. In thissense, the promotion of home gardens will benefit rural women who bear bothfarming and domestic duties, whilst assisting in their role of household nutrition.

Other potential roles of home gardens are:

• Home gardens can serve as space for cultivating certain medicinal plants and thuscontribute to primary health care (on “medicinal plants” see Chapter II.5).

• Home gardens are useful spaces to produce seed and seedlings, which are essentialfor the agricultural cycle (on “community seed systems” see Chapter II.6).

• Home gardens are a source of marketable products for growing urban populationsand can serve to raise rural incomes.

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Improving home gardens requires optimizing the use of local plant diversity, as well asthe dynamic integration of additional crops and crop varieties with specific values anduses (Box 5). Many traditional and neglected crops constitute important plant geneticresources for developing home gardens, such as leafy vegetables, cucurbitaceous crops,fruit trees and local root crops. In summary, home gardens show significant potential inimproving the food security, nutrition, labour management and overall livelihood of ruralpopulations, with specific benefits to rural women. Adequate technical assistance(mobilizing indigenous knowledge and incorporating new horticultural practices) can turnhome gardening into an activity that directly suits the primary needs and capacities ofvulnerable households, such as HIV/AIDS-affected, landless and female-headed house-holds. Further ideas and recommendations are presented in Box 6.

Box 5. Prospects for home gardens: Cases from Africa and Asia

Field research in Soroti district, in central Uganda, shows that farmers use more than 20species of crops in their home gardens. Soroti is a semi-arid region with limited waterresources, but home gardening has potential. The crop diversity of home gardens includesfruit vegetables (pumpkin), leafy vegetables (local varieties of amaranth), legume crops(cowpea) and fruit trees (guava). This crop diversity provides income and sources ofmicronutrients (vitamins A and C, calcium, iron). However, home gardens in Soroti districtare poorly structured, due partly to recent social turbulence and partly to the decreasingattention paid to this agricultural system. Accordingly, agricultural programmes thatimprove the recognition, structure, practices and crop diversity of home gardens wouldbenefit the food production, nutrition, income options and labour management of ruralhouseholds, especially those that are poor and vulnerable.

Field surveys of home gardens in southern Viet Nam illustrate the wealth of geneticresource diversity available for home gardening. Home gardens can accommodate a vastvegetable diversity, which provides leaves, tender stems, fruits and even flowers as foodsources. Some leafy vegetables are frequent in wet areas (water dropwort). Some leafyand fruit vegetables are important as cash crops. Others contribute to household nutrition,diet diversification and local culinary habits. Asia has a very rich diversity of species andvarieties of eggplant, each one with particular properties in terms of growing time,agroecological adaptation, culinary uses and market values, among others. Dark greenvegetables and certain fruits are usually a rich source of vitamin A and other micronutrients.Home gardens are often orchards because of the abundance of fruit trees (sour sop, citrustrees, countless varieties of banana, coconut, kumquat, cashew nut, kaki). A rich diversityof root and tuber crops is also available (sweet potato, cassava, taro, tannia). Minor rootcrops are used as medicinal plants or spices (ginger, greater galanga, turmeric, roundzedoary, daikon). In general, many species in home gardens have multiple uses: as a staple,as a vegetable, for medicine or as a craft. Finally, the presence of ornamental speciesdeserves recognition because these plants also play roles: they add beauty and comfort tothe rural setting, serve religious and cultural purposes, may have occasional medicinalvalues and perform agroecological functions (such as pest control).

Field research in various islands of the Philippines revealed over a dozen widespreadcrops that represent rich sources of vitamin A, e.g. bitter gourd, cassava, ceylon spinach,chayote, drumstick tree, jute, okra, squash, sweet potato, taro, water spinach and winged

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Box 6. Promotion and improvement of home gardens

Strategic lines Suggested actions

Nutrition – Nutrition awareness and information.– Meal preparation skills, useful recipes and improved food habits.– Appropriate diets and recipes for children and sick people.– Equity in food utilization (nutrition and income).

Genetic – Broadening crop diversity, e.g. vegetables, fruit trees and minor crops.resource – Seed management and seed nurseries.management – Crop synergies and integration of farm animals.

Agricultural – Organic agriculture; natural resource management (soil and water);practices weed and pest management.

– Indigenous knowledge; agroforestry practices.– Soil improvement practices, e.g. cover cropping and use of manure.– Use of poor soils, wetlands and hillsides.– Small-scale systems for water harvesting and conservation.– Living fences, tree lanes, orchids.– Practices for a continuous food supply.– Time and space structure.– Farmer experimentation.

Social and – Raising awareness on the value and potential of home gardens.economic – Labour-saving and economically responsive practices.support – Planning a home garden: nutrition, crops, timetable, labour, structure.

– Food processing and preservation practices.– Commercialization activities.– Women’s roles and needs regarding home gardens.– Gender equality on the control of income derived from home gardens.– Training and engaging children in home gardening.

For additional information, see the FAO technical series on home gardening for South-East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa (FAO, 1995).

bean. Banga community, in the uplands of Negros Island, holds many local crops that areexcellent sources of vitamin A, which are neglected by local people and agriculturalextension services. In addition, the dark green leaves and yellow roots of certain localvarieties of root crops (cassava, sweet potato and taro) are also complementary sources ofvitamin A. All these resources provide an excellent basis for creating home gardens witha strong role in nutrition. This plant diversity can contribute to arresting vitamin Adeficiency in ways that are more affordable, easier to deploy and more responsive inecological and cultural ways than some endeavours of genetic engineering that are currentlyin fashion.

Sources: Uganda: Garí (2003), based on original fieldwork.Viet Nam: Hodel et al. (1999).Philippines: Garí, unedited fieldwork in 2001.

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4. Wild food plants

Wild food plants are subsidiary food sources with a key role among certain ruralpopulations. They can play food security and nutrition roles in arid and semi-aridecosystems, in ways analogous to that of home gardens in humid and sub-humid lands.Impoverished households, especially in dry areas, collect wild food plants as aninexpensive source of food and nutrition, and to cope with poor agricultural yields. Wildfood plants are also an alternative when food in marketplaces is expensive, limited orinaccessible. Wild food plants are usually abundant in the rainy season, when new cropsare still growing and the previous crop harvest is depleting.

Wild food plants are available and used in different rural areas of the developing world.A rapid participatory field survey in the savanna of central Tanzania revealed that theGogo people hold local knowledge of and use over 40 wild food plants (Garí, 2003).Some of these plants grow during food shortage periods and others can undergo foodpreservation and processing practices. In north-east Thailand, rural people regularlyharvest over 60 different species of wild food plants, some of which are occasionally soldin the market (Somnasang et al., 1998).

The sustainable harvesting of wild food plants can increase food production, requiringlow-intensity labour inputs. Wild food plants can also improve the micronutrient qualityof rural diets. They often help impoverished people to cope with food shortage and foodemergency periods. Finally, they can provide options for food marketing and incomegeneration. Indigenous skills for the processing and preservation of wild plants canenhance the uses of this biodiversity.

In HIV/AIDS-affected households, wild food plants can represent a labour-responsive andinexpensive means to improve food access and nutrition. In fact, children can harvestthese resources if adequate knowledge has been transmitted. Sick people and elders withlimited labour strength can still contribute to household nutrition through the harvesting ofwild food plants, which is normally less strenuous than farming.

Rural women are often the major players in utilizing wild food plants. They haveknowledge about the locations, seasons of availability, preservation, processing andculinary uses of wild food plants. This knowledge is transmitted between generationswhen children accompany their relatives in harvesting activities. However, this process isbeing abandoned due to changes in food habits and the growing discredit for wildfood plants. In addition, environmental changes such as deforestation, land erosion,urbanization and river pollution reduce the habitats and abundance of many wild foodplants. As a consequence, the rural poor lose affordable and practical sources of nutritionand income, becoming more dependent on cash and market foods to meet their nutritionalneeds.

Further attention to wild food plants in programmes for agriculture, environmentalconservation and productive development would generate practical and affordable meansto enhance food production, nutrition and even income among rural populations inhabitingmarginal environments (see Box 7 for specific recommendations).

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5. Medicinal plants

Medicinal plants are agrobiodiversity resources with direct roles in health care. They arealready a fundamental component in traditional health care systems, yet rarely consideredby the formal agricultural and health sectors. For poor people, medicinal plants representlocally available, affordable and often the only effective resources for health care. Theuse of traditional medicine remains widespread in developing countries, including herbalmedicines (WHO, 2002). WHO and UNAIDS have initiated activities towardsrecognizing and encouraging medicinal plants and the roles of traditional healers inprimary health care delivery (UNAIDS, 2002; WHO, 2002). Furthermore, medicinalplants are often the only health care resources available for ample population sectorsbecause of poverty, lack of formal health services and international legal barriers in theaccess to modern medicines. Medicinal plants, together with food plants, are usefulbiodiversity resources for the health care needs of the rural poor (Box 8).

Box 7. Recommended action on wild food plants

• Conduct participatory surveys on wild food plants, their uses, their potential andindigenous knowledge associated with these plants.

• Introduce wild food plants in nutrition and health care interventions.

• In biodiversity projects, foster community practices for the conservation, sustainableuse and cultivation of wild food plants.

• Disseminate and improve food processing and preservation practices.

• Explore technical and organizational strategies for the sustainable commercializationof wild food plants.

Box 8. Plants and human health

Crops and food plants

Medicinal plants

NUTRITIONHEALTH

In the context of HIV/AIDS, medicinal plants may assist in addressing the followingmajor health concerns:

• Treating sexually transmitted infections and thereby reducing the risks of HIVinfection and re-infection.

• Supporting the strength of the immune system (immuno-stimulants).

• Improving appetite to help rest the worrying tendency of loss of appetite amongsome people living with HIV/AIDS.

• Combating some AIDS opportunistic and associated infections, especially certaindigestive, respiratory, skin and mouth problems.

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Rural people, and most particularly traditional healers,hold knowledge and experience on a wide range ofmedicinal plants. Such plants provide useful therapiesagainst skin diseases, respiratory infections, sexuallytransmitted diseases, diarrhoeal disorders, fever, lossof appetite and physical weakness, among other healthproblems that are associated with HIV/AIDS.Clinical research in Uganda has shown that certaintraditional medicinal plants are effective against herpeszoster, even more effective than available moderndrugs, particularly treatments based on the plantsAkasogaasoga, Kibwankulata, Lukandwa, Luwoko andMutulika (Garí, 2003, based on research by THETA,Makerere University and traditional healers inUganda; Homsy et al., 1999). Overall, a combinationof proper nutrition and medicinal plants may represent

Traditional healers displaying localmedicinal plants during a farmerseed and plant fair in Laobo district(Yunnan, China, 2003).

a timely, affordable and effective health strategy for people living with HIV/AIDS,especially when poverty and exclusion impede their access to other health care means.Nevertheless, efforts around medicinal plants and traditional health care systems should beconsidered a complement (not a replacement) to the ongoing research on anti-retroviraldrugs, the development of an HIV vaccine and the policy and financial efforts towardsmaking anti-retroviral therapies available to poor people in developing countries.

There is a small, but growing number of initiatives for the mobilization of medicinalplants and traditional healers in responding to HIV/AIDS (Garí, 2003; Healthlink, 1999;King, 2002; UNDP, 2002). A Regional Task Force on Traditional Medicine and HIV/AIDS in East and Southern Africa was established in 2000 (Bodeker et al., 2000). Thereare a few guides on the use of medicinal plants in the comprehensive health care responseto HIV/AIDS (THETA, 2002; UNDP, 2002). In India, for example, the national AIDSpolicy endorses the consideration and use of indigenous medicine (Box 9).

Box 9. India: National AIDS prevention and control policy

Indigenous systems of medicine: “There is an urgent need to look for cost-effective alternativesto anti-retroviral drugs in the indigenous system of medicine. (...). Some of the medicines inthese systems have the potential of reducing the viral load in the body of the patient, thusensuring a healthier and longer life with the infection. (...) At the same time, it is necessary tobe vigilant against unscrupulous persons claiming a cure for HIV/AIDS by magic remedies.”

Source: Government of India: “National AIDS prevention and control policy”, No. 5.13

Countries and societies with established experience andactors in traditional medicine, such as in West Africa andChina, can easily broaden their health care responses toHIV/AIDS. Medicinal plants can serve to catalyse thecollaboration between traditional and modern health sys-tems (Box 10). Such integrated approaches are veryuseful to address the health crisis affecting rural areas thatare poor, heavily affected by HIV/AIDS, or difficult toreach by formal health services.

Entrance to THETA’s MedicinalPlants Garden in Bujuuko village(Uganda, 2001).

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6. Community seed systems

Seeds represent an indispensable input for farming. Among small farmers, seed securityis essential for agricultural production and food security. The maintenance of seeddiversity at the farmer level is increasingly recognized as fundamental for sustainableagriculture and to enhance the options for food security and livelihoods of communities inmarginal environments. However, the modernization of agriculture, the disruption offarmer seed systems and other socio-economic factors have reduced seed resources andincreased seed insecurity among small farmers. In addition, the HIV/AIDS pandemic mayfurther aggravate seed insecurity because of the economic, labour and other socialimpacts. Consequently, seed security action at the community level is essential for theagricultural autonomy of farmers, to support the most vulnerable farmers and to fostersustainable agriculture.

The major seed systems are formal seed supply systems and farmer seed dynamics. Sincethe mid-20th century, the overestimation of formal seed systems and the progressivedislocation of farmer seed dynamics have impaired the evolution of agriculture. The

Box 10. Policy and programme recommendations for promoting medicinal plants

• Closer collaboration between the agricultural and health sectors, especially through: (i)partnerships involving agricultural and health research centres, agricultural offices, localhealth services, community organizations and traditional healers; (ii) participatoryinventories of medicinal plants with ethno-botany methods; and (iii) training of healers tokeep records on the use and effectiveness of selected medicinal plants and herbal therapies.

• Increased dialogue and cooperation between traditional and modern health practitioners,such as doctors, healers, nurses, community midwives, HIV/AIDS counsellors and localhealth care authorities.

• Awareness and policy support for the value and potential of medicinal plants andtraditional health care knowledge.

• Support clinical research on selected medicinal plants and herbal treatments ofrelevance to the most frequent diseases among the poor, including common healthproblems associated with HIV/AIDS.

• Creation of herbal gardens as spaces for the conservation, demonstration, experimenta-tion, research and dissemination of medicinal plant resources.

• Support to traditional healers as local health care advisors and providers, especiallythrough training and organizational skills. Training should cover HIV/AIDS awareness,nutrition and improved traditional health care practices. Organizational support shouldstimulate associations of traditional healers, enhance collaboration with doctors andnurses in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and encourage exchange of knowledge aroundmedicinal plants.4

• Promotion of regional meetings, initiatives and networks around medicinal plants andpublic health care.

4 For more information, please see Mae Chan Workshop on Integrated Community Mobilization towardsEffective Multisectoral HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care. UNDP South East Asia HIV and DevelopmentProgramme, May 2001, <http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Mae-Chan-Workshop.htm>.

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formal seed system has neglected the circumstances, priority needs and seed diversity ofsmall farmers. The rapid loss of indigenous seed knowledge and practices has furtheraggravated seed insecurity, increased the loss of genetic resources and reduced the localoptions for agricultural development. Poverty in rural areas also contributes to seedinsecurity. At this impasse, a reconsideration of seed policies, programmes and practicesis urgently required, with the focus on building community seed systems.

Community seed systems refer to farmer and community-based efforts dealing with theconservation, selection, experimentation, improvement, production and distribution ofseeds. Their major goal is to improve seed quality and seed security at the communitylevel, placing special emphasis on the poorest and most seed-insecure farmers. They alsoaim at enhancing farmer activities for the conservation, use and improvement of seedresources and knowledge at the local level. Building community seed systems requiresconcerted collaboration between the formal seed sector and farmer seed practices, drawingscientific and technical capacities from the formal seed sector towards strengtheningfarmers’ roles in seed management and research. Community seed systems can functionas an interface between farmers, crop scientists and rural development practitioners.

Integration of formal and farmer seed systems is recommended (Louwaars, 1994). Inrecent years, a number of concepts and initiatives have been deployed towards enhancingfarmer seed systems and building community seed systems (Almekinders and Louwaars,1999; Eyzaguirre and Iwanaga, 1996; Friis-Hansen and Sthapit, 2000; GTZ/CGN, 2000)(Box 11). The deployment of community seed systems requires participatory approaches,a community-level focus, and the close interaction between the different seed stakeholders.

Community seed systems represent aresponse for seed security at thefarmer level that is economicallyaffordable, effective and socio-ecologically sound. They enhancefarmers’ capacities to conserve, useand further develop genetic resourcesand local seed knowledge. They canmaintain local seed, breed new vari-eties and disseminate seed resources,whilst enhancing farmer awarenessand management on seed resources.Maintaining indigenous and localseed is critical in view that impover-

Farmers examining their community rice seedbank in theuplands of Panay Island (Philippines, 2001).

ished families, such as those living in marginal areas or those affected by HIV/AIDS,cannot afford to purchase commercial seed every year (a reality that the author hasrepeatedly observed in different rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia andLatin America). Moreover, impoverished farmers increasingly rely on community mecha-nisms to access seed due to the decline of public agricultural extension services.Furthermore, in rural areas heavily affected by HIV/AIDS or migration, there is asignificant risk that unique seed-related knowledge of local specialists is lost. Communityseed systems can foster the transmission of local seed knowledge and enhance farmercooperation for seed access. These efforts are vital not only for the agricultural survivalof vulnerable farmers, but also for maintaining the prospects of social reproduction andsustainable development in rural communities.

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Community seed systems are practi-cal and effective to expand localaccess to seed diversity. Such seeddiversity will particularly assistsmall farmers to plan and practiceagriculture in response to theirspecific agroecological conditions,labour constraints, economiccircumstances, nutrition needs andagricultural marketing prospects.For AIDS-affected households, easyaccess to sufficient amounts anddiversity of seed is indispensable todevise agricultural practices that areresponsive to their specific circum-stances and pressing needs. In con-clusion, community seed systemsoffer a wide range of initiatives thatenhance seed access at the commu-nity level and empower farmers inseed management (Box 12).

Box 11. Community seed initiatives in Asia and Africa

South-East Asia has been an innovative ground in building seed security and seed diversityat the community level, partly in response to the impacts of the Green Revolution, the rapiderosion of rice genetic diversity, and the growing farmer dependency on commercial seed(which is at odds with widespread poverty). For instance, the farmer network MASIPAG inthe Philippines has led innovative efforts for the conservation and participatory breeding ofrice genetic diversity through a joint farmer-scientist cooperation effort. This network hasestablished numerous community seed banks, containing over 50 rice varieties each, and hasengaged farmers in active awareness on the conservation, use, reporting, experimentation,improvement, seed production and exchange of rice varieties. The network maintains over1,300 rice cultivars, including over 600 traditional rice varieties and over 700 varietiesdeveloped under the MASIPAG auspices by farmers and through participatory breeding.In Visayas Island only, MASIPAG serves as umbrella for over 150 farmer organizations andhas reached thousands of households. These efforts not only enrich and strengthensmallholder agriculture, but also ease the availability of seed resources among poor and themost vulnerable farmers.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, community seed action has also shown its benefits. Farmer fieldschools have served to create on-farm multiplication plots that produce and distribute seedsand cuttings in the community, expanding seed awareness and solidarity among farmers.Rural seed fairs in Tanzania have been useful to improve farmer seed security, increasefarmer awareness on seed resources and facilitate the transmission of seed knowledge acrosscommunities and gender. Seed relief programmes are engaging in participatory approachesto seed rehabilitation; for example in Rwanda, where a large-scale rescue and disseminationof farmer bean varieties enhanced the success of the relief intervention.

Box 12. Suggested initiatives for buildingcommunity seed systems

• Community seed banks

• Participatory crop breeding

• Rural seed fairs

• Training on seed selection and conservation

• Support and improvement of traditionalseed storage

• Adaptation of formal methods for seed test-ing and treatment

• Reporting and dissemination of indigenousseed knowledge

• On-farm seed production

• Appropriate seed technology transfer

• Small-scale seed enterprise development.

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III. Conclusion

Policies and projects for agriculture and rural development rely excessively on exogenoussolutions, often trusting material inputs, commercial seeds, infrastructure and markets asroutes to development. However, these solutions are frequently deficient, economicallyunaffordable or simply inadequate for the realities of most small and traditional farmers inthe South, especially in regard to their diverse social, cultural and environmental contexts.Compounding these problems, most agricultural policies and projects tend to approachfarmers as simple objects to assist, rather than principal actors in the developmentprocess. Accordingly, a new architecture of agricultural development is required, placingemphasis on the potential of local resources and knowledge, the eradication of malnutri-tion, the deployment of practices that are responsive to labour and economic shortages,the protection of natural resources, the social inclusion of marginalised households and theempowerment of farmers. This paper has examined how an agrobiodiversity strategy cancontribute to this new architecture.

Agrobiodiversity and indigenous knowledge are undergoing rapid erosion. This washesaway practical, affordable and participatory options for rural development; especiallygrassroots responses for nutrition and sustainable rural livelihoods. The neglect anderosion of traditional knowledge and customary practices has been presented as one of themajor causes of poverty, agricultural failure and environmental degradation in thedeveloping world (Mammo, 1999; Norgaard, 1994). Research and field experienceconfirm this insight.

Restoring the roles of agrobiodiversity and indigenous knowledge in agricultural develop-ment requires policy and programme support. The matter is not a “back-to-tradition” or anaïve grassroots approach, but recognizing, safeguarding and mobilizing local resources andknowledge in the development process. Technical, organizational and financial support torural communities would be more effective and sustainable if it were built on the resourcesand knowledge that rural people already hold, instead of imprudently ignoring or replacingthem. Enhancing the local resource and knowledge base, whilst using it as a platform foragricultural development, is valuable in practical terms and on ethical grounds. Otherwise,economic growth in developing countries could be lost because of growing inequalities,persistent malnutrition threats, environmental degradation and social disintegration.

An agrobiodiversity strategy would provide the following contributions to sustainable rurallivelihoods:

• Supporting small farmers to access, use, understand, experiment and further developthe widest diversity of plant resources and associated knowledge. This wouldincrease their capacity to plan and practice agriculture, especially through practical,economically affordable and culturally sensitive means.

• Improve nutrition, health care and the diets of sick people, children and the elderly.

• Assist farmers to cope with labour stresses and to enhance the economic security oftheir households. These are critical needs among small farmers in view of, interalia, chronic poverty, the complex challenges that rural women face, the impact ofHIV/AIDS, and the proliferation of children and the elderly involved in farming.

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• Expand an ecological rationale in agriculture, enhancing the awareness and methodsof farmers to safeguard the natural resource base, manage environmental risks,improve soil fertility, reclaim marginal lands for food production and, in general, usean agroecological perspective in farming.

• Build grassroots responses to mitigate the HIV/AIDS crisis in rural areas, especiallythrough simple practices in agriculture that are responsive to nutritional and healthcare needs, labour shortages and impoverishment.

• Tackle gender equality through recognizing and supporting the roles of women infood and agriculture, as they are significantly connected to a wealth of knowledgeand skills around plant diversity.

• Promote policy, technical and investment support to the indigenous agriculturalsystems of small farmers.

Agrobiodiversity thus holds untapped potential to foster grassroots responses for nutrition,environmental management and the optimal use of scarce productive resources such aslabour, cash and land. Mobilizing agrobiodiversity relies on a dynamic interaction betweenindigenous knowledge and modern research. Indigenous knowledge (which includesinformation, practices, technologies, skills, social organization and certain cultural scripts)provides a unique epistemological and institutional basis for agricultural development. Itsconsideration is indispensable to foster the intervention of farmers as respected actors andthe continued co-evolution of rural people with their agricultural landscapes. Simulta-neously, agricultural research and technical support are indispensable to provide farmerswith adapted technologies, innovative practices and organizational mechanisms that furtherimprove their agricultural and livelihood systems. This would also serve to enhanceindigenous knowledge to meet the challenges of population growth, ecological sustainabilityand other evolving needs such as climate change and the impact of HIV/AIDS. Theprinciples and methods of the science of agroecology, as well as participatory approaches,are key tools to drive modern research and technical assistance in the rural setting.

Consideration of an agrobiodiversity strategy leads to awareness regarding the transmissionof indigenous knowledge and, thereby, about the need to reinforce social reproductionmechanisms. Indigenous agricultural knowledge is rapidly declining because of modernagricultural models, the stigmatization of local resources and the dislocation of inter-generational relations (due to migration, war and HIV/AIDS). This increases thedependency of rural people on external assistance and undermines the prospects of ruraldevelopment. Accordingly, action on agrobiodiversity can be instrumental to halt theproliferation of agricultural orphans, that is, rural youth and children lacking the agriculturalresources, knowledge and experimental skills needed for farming and managing ecosystems.

Finally, the agrobiodiversity discourse is a practical opportunity to draw marginalizedpopulation groups into community dynamics whilst improving their agriculture. Forinstance, grassroots activities focusing on local plant diversity can enhance the socialintegration, farming skills and sense of belonging among marginalized households or formeryoung combatants aiming to return to village life. Female-headed households, farmersliving with HIV/AIDS and orphans are already experiencing how farmer field schools andrural seed fairs represent dynamic spaces to improve agriculture whilst increasing socialcohesion. The strength of such initiatives relies precisely on developing local knowledgeand capacities. In essence, agrobiodiversity is a useful force, if not indispensable, inrevitalizing rural development and to recognize the dignity of rural lifestyles.

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Annex. List of plant resources mentioned

Common name Scientific name

Akasogaasoga (1) Ricinus communis

Amaranth Amaranthus spp.

Aroid crops (2) Colocasia spp.;Xanthosoma spp.

Avocado Persea spp.

Banana Musa spp.

Barley Hordeum vulgare

Bitter gourd Mormodica charantia

Buckwheat Fagopyrum spp.

Cashew nut Anacardia officinalis

Cassava Manihot esculenta

Ceylon spinach Basella alba;Basella rubra

Chayote Sechium edule

Chick pea Cicer arietinum

Citrus trees Citrus spp.

Coconut Cocos nucifera

Cocoyam Xanthosoma spp.

Common bean Phaseolus vulgaris

Cowpea Vigna unguiculata

Cucurbitaceous Cucurbita spp.;crops (3) Cucumis spp.; et al.

Daikon Raphanus sativus

Drumstick tree Moringa oleifera

Eggplant Solanum spp.

Finger millet Eleusine coracana

Common name Scientific name

Fonio Digitaria spp.

Ginger Zingiber officinale

Grass pea (4) Lathyrus sativus

Greater galanga Languas galanga

Groundnut Arachis hypogaea

Guava Psidium guajava

Hyacinth bean Lablab purpureus

Jute (bush okra) Corchorus olitorius

Kaki Diospyros kaki

Kibwankulata (1) Iboza multiflora

Kumquat Citrofortunellamicrocarpa

Lentil Lens culinaris

Litchi Litchi chinensis

Lukandwa (1) Securinega virosa

Luwoko (1) Phytolacca dodecandra

Maize Zea mays

Mango Mangifera indica

Mutulika (1) Phyllanthus guineensis

Okra Abelmoschus esculentus

Palawan (5) Cyrtosperma merkusii

Papaya Carica papaya

Peas Pisum sativum

Pearl millet Pennisetum glaucum

Pigeon pea Cajanus cajan

Plantain Musa spp.

Pumpkin Cucurbita spp.

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Common name Scientific name Common name Scientific name

(1) Names in Luganda language (Uganda), based on phonetic transcriptions by the author.(2) Aroid crops include cocoyam, taro and tannia.(3) Cucurbitaceous crops include pumpkins, melons, gourds, cucumbers and squash.(4) Moderate consumption of grass pea is recommended because it contains a toxin.(5) Palawan is also known as “giant swamp taro.”

Rice (African) Oryza glaberrima

Rice (Asian) Oryza sativa

Rice bean Vigna umbellata

Round zedoary Curcuma zedoarica

Sorghum Sorghum bicolor

Sour sop Annona muricata

Soyabean Glycine max

Squash Cucurbita maxima

Sweet potato Ipomoea batatas

Tannia Xanthosoma sagittifolium

Taro Colocasia esculenta

Turmeric Curcuma domestica

Velvet bean Mucuna spp.

Water dropwort Oenanthe javanica

Water spinach Ipomoea aquatica

Wheat Triticum spp,

Winged bean Psophocarpustetragonolobus

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References

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Altieri, M.A. (2002a). “Agroecology: The science of natural resource management forpoor farmers in marginal environments.” Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment,1971: 1-24 (in press) (http://www.agroeco.org).

Altieri, M.A. (2002b). “Agroecological principles for sustainable agriculture”. In Uphoff,N. (ed.): Agroecological innovations; Earthscan, London, UK. A manuscript versionis available on the Internet at: http://www.agroeco.org (under the title:“Agroecology: Principles and strategies for designing sustainable farming systems”).

Attig, G.A., Smitasiri, S., Ittikom, K. and Dhanamitta, S. (1993). “Promoting homegardening to control vitamin A deficiency in northeastern Thailand.” Food, Nutritionand Agriculture, 7. Journal freely available on the Internet at: http://www.fao.org.

Barnett, T. and Whiteside, A. (2002). AIDS in the Twenty-First Century: Disease andglobalization. Palgrave Macmillan, Houndmills, UK.

Bodeker, G. et al. (2000). “A regional task force on traditional medicine and AIDS”. TheLancet, 355: 1284. Reprinted in Indigenous Knowledge Notes, No. 26, November2000 (http://www.worldbank.org).

Buckles, D., Etèka, A.C., Osiname, O., Galiba, M. and Galiano, N.G. (eds.) (1998). Covercrops in West Africa / Plantes de couverture en Afrique de l’Ouest. IDRC / IITA /SG2000, Ottawa, Canada, bilingual edition (http://web.idrc.ca).

CIP (International Potato Centre) (ed.) (2003). Conservation and sustainable use ofagricultural biodiversity (3 volumes). CIP-UPWARD in collaboration with GTZ, IDRC,IPGRI and SEARICE, Manila, Philippines (http://www.eseap.cipotato.org/upward).

du Guerny, J. (2002). Meeting the HIV/AIDS challenge to food security: The role oflabour-saving technologies in farm-households. UNDP / FAO, Bangkok, Thailand(http://www.hiv-development.org).

du Guerny, J., Hsu, L.N. and Chhitna, S. (2002). A development strategy to empowerrural farmers and prevent HIV. UNDP South East Asia HIV and DevelopmentProgramme, Bangkok, Thailand (http://www.hiv-development.org).

Eyzaguirre, P. and Iwanaga, M. (eds.). (1996). Participatory Plant Breeding. IPGRI,Rome, Italy.

FAO (1995, 2000, 2001). Improving nutrition through home gardening (3 regionaleditions). FAO, Rome, Italy. Volume 1: Improving nutrition through home garden-ing: A training package for preparing field workers in Southeast Asia (1995).Volume 2: Mejorando la nutrición a través de huertos y granjas familiares: Manualde capacitación para trabajadores de campo en América Latina y el Caribe (2000).Volume 3: Improving nutrition through home gardening: A training package forpreparing field workers in Africa (2001). These volumes are available on theInternet at: http://www.fao.org.

24

FAO (2001). International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.Adopted by the Conference of FAO in 2001, Rome, Italy (http://www.fao.org).

FAO (2003a). The state of food insecurity in the world – 2003. FAO, Rome, Italy (http://www.fao.org).

FAO (2003b). Mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS on food security and rural poverty.FAO HIV/AIDS Programme, FAO, Rome, Italy (http://www.odi.org.uk)

FAO (2003c). HIV/AIDS and agriculture: Impacts and responses. Case studies fromNamibia, Uganda and Zambia. FAO, Rome, Italy (http://www.fao.org).

FAO (2003d). Biodiversity and the ecosystem approach in agriculture, forestry andfisheries. FAO, Rome, Italy (http://www.fao.org).

FAO / WHO (2002). Living well with HIV/AIDS: A manual on nutritional care andsupport for people living with HIV/AIDS. FAO / WHO, Rome, Italy (http://www.fao.org).

Friis-Hansen, E. and Sthapit, B. (eds.) (2000). Participatory approaches to the conserva-tion and use of plant genetic resources. IPGRI, Rome, Italy (http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org).

Garí, J.A. (2003). Agrobiodiversity strategies to combat food insecurity and HIV/AIDSimpact in rural Africa: Advancing grassroots responses for nutrition, health andsustainable livelihoods. Population and Development Service (SDWP), FAO, Rome,Italy, prelimin. ed. (http://www.geocities.com/rural_Africa).

GTZ/CGN (2000). Support for the informal seed sector in development cooperation:Conceptual issues. GTZ/CGN, Eschborn, Germany (http://www.gtz.de).

Healthlink (ed.) (1999). AIDS Action, Issue 46 (special issue dedicated to traditionalhealthcare) (http://www.healthlink.org.uk).

Hodel, U. et. al. (1999). In situ conservation of plant genetic resources in home gardensof southern Vietnam. IPGRI, Rome, Italy.

Homsy, J., Katabira, E., Kabatesi, D., Mubiru, F., Kwamya, L., Tusaba, C., Kasolo, S.,Mwebe, D., Ssentamu, L., Okello, M. and King, R. (1999). “Evaluating herbalmedicine for the management of Herpes Zoster in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-infected patients in Kampala, Uganda.” Journal of Alternative and ComplementaryMedicine, 5 (6): 553-565.

Hsu, L.N., du Guerny, J. and Marissa, M. (2002). Communities facing the HIV/AIDSchallenge. UNDP South East Asia HIV and Development Programme, Bangkok,Thailand (http://www.hiv-development.org).

Jianchu, X. and Mikesell, S. (eds.) (2003). Landscapes of diversity: Indigenous knowledge,sustainable livelihoods and resource governance in Montane Mainland SoutheastAsia. CBIK (Center for Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge) / Yunnan Scienceand Technology Press, Kunming, China (http://www.cbik.org).

25

King, R. (2000). Collaboration with traditional healers in HIV/AIDS prevention and carein Sub-Saharan Africa: A literature review. UNAIDS – Best Practice Collection,Geneva, Switzerland (http://www.unaids.org).

Louwaars, N.P. (1994). “Integrated seed supply: Institutional linkages in relation to systemefficiency, biodiversity and gender.” In S. David (ed.), Network on Bean Researchin Africa: Workshop Series No. 32, CIAT, Kampala, Uganda.

Mal, B. (1994). Underutilized grain legumes and pseudocereals: Their potentials in Asia.FAO – Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand.

Mammo, T. (1999). The paradox of Africa’s poverty: The role of indigenous knowledge,traditional practices and local institutions – The case of Ethiopia. Red Sea Press,Lawrenceville (NJ), USA.

Norgaard, R.B. (1994). Development betrayed: The end of progress and a coevolutionaryrevisioning of the future. Routledge, London, UK.

Pieri, C., Evers, G., Landers, J., O’Connell, P. and Terry, E. (2002). “No-till farming forsustainable rural development.” Agriculture & Rural Development Working Paper,The World Bank, Washington DC, USA (http://www.worldbank.org).

Posey, D.A. (ed.) (1999). Cultural and spiritual values of biodiversity. UNEP, Nairobi,Kenya (http://www.unep.org).

Somnasang, P., Moreno, G. and Chusil, K. (1998). “Indigenous knowledge of wild foodhunting and gathering in north-east Thailand.” Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 19 (4):359-365 (http://www.unu.edu/unupress).

THETA (2002). Selected medicinal plants for the treatment of HIV/AIDS related condi-tions and other common illnesses. THETA, Kampala, Uganda.

UNAIDS (2002). Ancient remedies, new disease: Involving traditional healers in increas-ing access to AIDS care and prevention In East Africa. UNAIDS – Best PracticeCollection, Geneva, Switzerland (http://www.unaids.org).

UNAIDS (2003). AIDS epidemic update: December 2003. UNAIDS/WHO, Geneva,Switzerland (http://www.unaids.org).

UNDP (2002). Indigenous South East Asian herbal remedies: Symptomatic relief forPeople with HIV/AIDS. UNDP South East Asia HIV and Development Programme,Bangkok, Thailand (http://www.hiv-development.org).

WHO (2002). WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy, 2002-2005. WHO, Geneva, Switzer-land (http://www.who.org).

Zhu, Y. et al. (2000). “Genetic diversity and disease control in rice”. Nature, 406: 718-722.

26

United Nations Development Programme

South East AsiaHIV and Development Programme

http://www.hiv-development.org

Publications List

� �

� �

COVER TITLEISBNDATE

Mainstreaming HIV Prevention in the Military: A case study from Cambodiahttp://www.hiv-development.org/publications/defense.htmAuthor: Tan SokheyCompiled by Allison WoodruffLanguage: English

African-Asian Agriculture against AIDShttp://www.hiv-development.org/publications/5A.htmWorkshop organized by UNDP-SEAHIV and FAOA joint publication of FAO and UNDPLanguage: English

Mapping HIV Vulnerability along Kampong Thom, Siem Reap, OdorMeanchey and Preah Vihear, Cambodiahttp://www.hiv-development.org/publications/cambodia_prip.htmAuthors: Tia Phalla, Hor Bun Leng, Po SamnangLanguage: English

Building Dynamic Democratic Governance and HIV-Resilient Societieshttp://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Oslo_Paper.htmAuthors: Lee-Nah HsuA joint publication of UNAIDS and UNDPLanguage: English

Farmers’ Life School Manualhttp://www.hiv-development.org/publications/FLS.htmAuthors: Ou Chhaya, Jacques du Guerny, Richard Geeves, Masaya Kato andLee-Nah HsuCompiled by Michelle MahA joint publication of UNDP, FAO and World EducationLanguage: English

Population Movement and HIV/AIDS: The case of Ruili, Yunnan, Chinahttp://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Ruili_Model.htmAuthors: Jacques du Guerny, Lee-Nah Hsu and Cao HongA joint publication of UNDP and CIDALanguages: English, Chinese

From Early Warning to Development Sector Responses against HIV/AIDSEpidemicshttp://www.hiv-development.org/publications/EWDSR.htmAuthors: Philip Guest, Jacques du Guerny and Lee-Nah HsuLanguages: English, Chinese

Multisectoral Responses to Mobile Populations’ HIV Vulnerability: Examplesfrom People’s Republic of China, Thailand and Viet Namhttp://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Multisectoral.htmAuthors: Jacques du Guerny, Kellie Wilson, Promboon Panitchapakdi andPhilip GuestLanguage: English

974-91992-4-3May 2004

974-91418-5-7April 2004

974-91403-2-XMarch 2004

974-91870-8-3February 2004

974-91708-1-4January 2004

974-91669-7-3August 2003

974-91330-6-4May 2003

974-91165-8-5February 2003

COVER TITLE ISBNDATE

Meeting the HIV/AIDS Challenge to Food Security: The role of labour-savingtechnologies in farm-householdshttp://www.hiv-development.org/publications/meeting-challenge.htmAuthor: Jacques du GuernyA joint publication of FAO and UNDPLanguages: English, Chinese

Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore Cluster CountryConsultation on Migrant Workers’ HIV Vulnerability Reduction: Pre-departure,post-arrival and returnee reintegrationhttp://www.hiv-development.org/publications/BIMPS-Report.htmWorkshop organized by UNDP-SEAHIV, CHASPPAR, MOH Philippines, OWWAPhilippines and ASEAN SecretariatLanguages: English, Chinese

Indigenous South East Asian Herbal Remedies: Symptomatic relief forpeople with HIV/AIDShttp://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Herbs.htmAuthors: Somsak Supawitkul, Rachanit Rachakid and Pornpimol SaksoongCompiled by Marissa Marco, Phimjai Kananurak and Kannika MarcoLanguage: English

Communities Facing the HIV/AIDS Challenge: From crisis to opportunities,from community vulnerability to community resiliencehttp://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Crisis.htmAuthors: Lee-Nah Hsu, Jacques du Guerny and Marissa MarcoLanguages: English, Chinese

Introducing Governance into HIV/AIDS Programmes: People’s Republic ofChina, Lao PDR and Viet Namhttp://www.hiv-development.org/publications/introducing-Governance.htmPrepared by Jacques du Guerny, Lee-Nah Hsu, Michelle Rodolph, Liu Wei,Zhao Shaoji, et al.Languages: English, Chinese, Vietnamese

Towards Borderless Strategies against HIV/AIDShttp://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Borderless-Strategies.htmAuthors: Jacques du Guerny and Lee-Nah HsuLanguages: English, Chinese, Vietnamese

The Potential Costs and Benefits of Responding to the Mobility Aspect ofthe HIV Epidemic in South East Asia: A conceptual framework*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/economics.htmAuthors: Lorna Guinness and Lilani KumaranayakeLanguages: English, Chinese, Vietnamese

Mobile Populations and HIV Vulnerability: Selected responses in South EastAsia*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Responses.htmAuthors: Sin Chhitna, Viboon Kemchalerm, Nguyen Duy Tung and SteenBjorn HanssenA joint publication of UNDP/UNOPS and The Rockefeller FoundationLanguages: English, Chinese, Khmer, Laotian, Thai, Vietnamese

Agriculture and HIV/AIDS*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Agriculture.htmAuthor: Jacques du GuernyA joint publication of UNDP/UNOPS, FAO and EASE InternationalLanguages: English, Chinese, Khmer, Laotian, Thai, Vietnamese

A Development Strategy to Empower Rural Farmers and Prevent HIV*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/HESA.htmAuthors: Jacques du Guerny, Lee-Nah Hsu and Sin ChhitnaA joint publication of UNDP/UNOPS and FAOLanguages: English, Chinese, Burmese, Khmer, Laotian, Thai, Vietnamese

974-680-220-8December 2002

974-680-221-6September 2002

974-680-212-7August 2002

974-680-271-8July 2002

974-680-195-3June 2002

974-680-211-9May 2002

974-680-206-2April 2002

974-680-250-4March 2002

974-680-204-6February 2002

974-680-200-3January 2002

COVER TITLE ISBNDATE

Mobile Populations and HIV Vulnerability: Inventory of organizations*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Inventory.htmPrepared by UNDP-SEAHIV, UNAIDS and IOM GenevaA joint publication of UNDP/UNOPS, UNAIDS and IOMLanguage: English

Population Mobility and HIV/AIDS in Indonesia*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Indonesia.htmAuthor: Graeme HugoA joint publication of UNDP-SEAHIV, ILO, UNAIDS and AusAIDLanguage: English

HIV Policy Formulation and Strategic Planning: For the communication,transportation, post, construction and tourism sectors, Lao People’sDemocratic Republic*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/land-transport-Lao.htmWorkshop organized by UNDP-SEAHIV, NCCAB and MCTPC, Lao PDRLanguages: English, Laotian

Assessing Population Mobility and HIV Vulnerability: Guangxi, People’sRepublic of China*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Guangxi.htmAuthors: Wei Liu, Jie Chen, Zhoufu Qin, Shaoling Liang, Yongjian Li, et al.A joint publication of UNDP/UNOPS and UNAIDSLanguages: English, Chinese

The Impacts of Mapping Assessments on Population Movement and HIVVulnerability in South East Asia*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/mapping.htmAuthors: Lee-Nah Hsu, Tia Phalla, Chansy Phimphachanh, Liu Wei, NguyenDuy Tung, et al.Languages: English, Chinese

HIV Subverts National Security*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Subverts-Security.htmAuthor: Lee-Nah HsuLanguages: English, Chinese, Vietnamese

Sang Fan Wan Mai Youth Group: Tiny steps by youth to battle the AIDScrisis*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Sang-Fan-Wan-Mai.htmPrepared by Jansui Janpeng, Jinda Kankaew, Prachert Tatong, SangdawTanggoen, et al.Language: English

People’s Development: A community governance tool*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/People-Development.htmAuthor: Seri PhongphitA joint publication of UNDP/UNOPS and UNAIDSLanguages: English, Chinese, Vietnamese

A Website at the Service of HIV and Development: Remarks on role, strategyand effectiveness*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Web-Site.htmAuthors: Jacques du Guerny, Andrew Gillen, Christopher Nicholson andLee-Nah HsuLanguages: English, Chinese, Vietnamese

Mae Chan Workshop on Integrated Community Mobilization towardsEffective Multisectoral HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Mae-Chan-Workshop.htmWorkshop organized by UNDP-SEAHIV and UNAIDSA joint publication of UNDP/UNOPS and UNAIDSLanguage: English

Land Transport & HIV Vulnerability: A development challengehttp://www.hiv-development.org/publications/development-challenge.htmPrepared by UNDP/UNOPS, UNAIDS and UNESCAPA joint publication of UNDP/UNOPS, UNAIDS and UNESCAPLanguages: English, Chinese, Laotian

974-680-198-8December 2001

92-2-112631-5November 2001

974-680-184-8October 2001

974-680-185-6September 2001

974-680-193-7September 2001

974-680-192-9August 2001

974-680-190-2July 2001

974-680-187-2July 2001

974-680-189-9June 2001

974-680-182-1May 2001

974-680-186-4April 2001

COVER TITLE ISBNDATE

Building an Alliance with Transport Sector in HIV Vulnerability Reductionhttp://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Building.htmAuthor: Lee-Nah HsuLanguages: English, Chinese, Laotian, Vietnamese

New Challenges and Opportunities? Communication for HIV andDevelopmenthttp://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Challenges.htmAuthors: Jacques du Guerny and Lee-Nah HsuLanguage: English

Our Families, Our Friends: An action guide – mobilize your community forHIV/AIDS prevention and care*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/ActionGuide.htmPrepared by United Nations Theme Group on AIDS, Thailand in collaborationwith WHO ThailandA joint publication of UNDP/UNOPS and UNAIDSLanguages: English, Burmese, Chinese, Khmer, Laotian, Vietnamese

Sermons Based on Buddhist Precepts: A response to HIV/AIDS*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Sermons.htmPrepared by Monk Group, Mae Chan District, Chiang Rai in collaborationwith Mae Chan Hospital, Chiang Rai, ThailandLanguages: English, Burmese, Vietnamese

Assessing Population Movement & HIV Vulnerability: Brunei – Indonesia –Malaysia – Philippines linkages in the East ASEAN Growth Area*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/BIMP.htmPrepared by Scalabrini Migration CentreA joint publication of UNDP/UNOPS and UNAIDSLanguage: English

HIV Vulnerability Mapping: Highway One, Viet Nam*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Vietnam-highwayOne.htmPrepared by UNDP-SEAHIV in collaboration with National AIDS Bureau,Sociology Institute, Social Development Research and Consultancy andUNDP Hanoi, Viet NamLanguages: English, Vietnamese

Indonesian Overseas Contract Workers’ HIV Knowledge: A gap ininformation*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Contract%20Workers.htmAuthor: Graeme HugoA joint publication of UNDP/UNOPS and ILOLanguage: English

From AIDS Epidemics to an AIDS Pandemic: Is an HIV/AIDS hub building inSouth East Asia?*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Epidemics%20Pandemic.htmAuthors: Jacques du Guerny, James R. Chamberlain and Lee-Nah HsuLanguages: English, Chinese, Khmer, Laotian, Thai, Vietnamese

Early Warning Rapid Response System: HIV vulnerability caused by mobilityrelated to development*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/ewrrs.htmAuthors: Jacques du Guerny and Lee-Nah HsuLanguages: English, Chinese, Khmer, Laotian, Thai, Vietnamese

ASEAN Workshop on Population Movement and HIV Vulnerability*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/ASEAN_workshop.htmWorkshop organized by MOPH Thailand, UNDP-SEAHIV, WHO, ASEANSecretariat, FHI/USAID and SEAMEO-GTZ-CHASPPARA joint publication of UNDP-SEAHIV, Ministry of Public Health (Thailand),ASEAN, WHO, FHI, USAID, GTZ and SEAMEOLanguage: English

974-680-180-5March 2001

974-680-179-1February 2001

974-878-657-9January 2001

974-680-177-5December 2000

974-680-175-9November 2000

974-680-176-7October 2000

974-680-173-2September 2000

974-680-172-4August 2000

974-680-169-4July 2000

974-87637-8-1June 2000

COVER TITLE ISBNDATE

Reduction of HIV Vulnerability within the Land Transport Sector: Towards apublic policy framework for addressing HIV/AIDS in the transport sector*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/land-transport.htmWorkshop organized by UNDP-SEAHIV, UNESCAP and UNAIDSA joint publication of UNDP/UNOPS, UNAIDS, and UNESCAPLanguages: English, Khmer

Population Mobility in Asia: Implications for HIV/AIDS action programme*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/mobility-action-programmes.htmAuthors: Lee-Nah Hsu, Jacques du Guerny, Promboon Panitchpakdi, ManitKoedkan, et al.A joint publication of UNDP, UNAIDS, and ICAAPLanguage: English

HIV Vulnerability and Population Mobility in the Northern Provinces of theLao People’s Democratic Republic*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Vulnerability-Lao.htmAuthor: James R. ChamberlainLanguages: English, Laotian

Population Mobility and HIV Vulnerability in South East Asia: An assessmentand analysis*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/sea_publications_papers.aspAuthor: Ronald SkeldonA joint publication of UNDP/UNOPS and FHILanguages: English, Chinese, Laotian, Vietnamese

Cambodia HIV Vulnerability Mapping: Highway One and Five*http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/cambodia_mapping.htmPrepared by National Centre for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STD, CambodiaA joint publication of UNDP/UNOPS and NCHADSLanguage: English

974-68500-8-3May 2000

974-85835-3-8April 2000

974-85913-8-7March 2000

974-85835-1-1February 2000

974-68016-7-8January 2000

* These publications are no longer available in hard copy format; however, they may be downloaded in electronicform from the following website: http://www.hiv-development.org

COVER TITLE ISBNDATE

Additional Publications

UND

UND

UNESCAP/UNDP-SEAHIV/UNAIDS/SMA/CIDA HIV/AIDS: Be safe not sorryMobilising a Response to HIV/AIDS in the Maritime IndustryCourse information for instructors, course information for students andCD-ROM course materialsLanguages: English, Chinese

ADB/UNDP-SEAHIV/WVI/Burnet Institute: Toolkit for HIV prevention amongmobile populations in the Greater Mekong Subregionhttp://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Tool-Kit.htmLanguages: English, Chinese, Burmese, Khmer, Laotian, Vietnamese

Independent Review of the UN Regional Taskforce on Mobile Populationsand HIV Vulnerabilityhttp://www.hiv-development.org/text/task/review2001.docAuthor: Jacques du GuernyLanguage: English

Strategy on Mobility and HIV Vulnerability Reduction in the Greater MekongSubregion 2002-2004http://www.hiv-development.org/publications/Strategy.htmLanguages: English, Chinese, Burmese, Khmer, Laotian, Thai, Vietnamese

UNDP-FAO Mobilization and Empowerment of Rural Communities alongthe Asian Highway (Route 5) in Cambodia to Reduce HIV Vulnerabilityhttp://www.hiv-development.org/publications/review-route5.htmFact sheet and project evaluation report by Jacques du GuernyLanguages: English, Khmer

UNIFEM/UNAIDS/UNDP-SEAHIV Information Kit on Women, Gender andHIV/AIDS in East and South East AsiaLanguage: English

Better Safe than Sorry: Preventing HIV/AIDS among mobile populations inthe Greater Mekong SubregionVideo CDLanguages: English, Chinese, Laotian, Vietnamese

ADB/UNDP/WVI/ARCM: Mobility and HIV/AIDS in the Greater MekongSubregionFact sheet, inception report and profiling reportLanguage: English

Regional Summit on Pre-departure, Post-arrival and ReintegrationProgrammes for Migrant WorkerWorkshop organized by CARAM Asia, UNDP-SEAHIV, CHRF and IOMReportLanguage: English

CIPY HeritageProducer: Hem Monirith, Director: Tith Thearith, Assistant Manager:Ouk SokhaTechnical assistance: Mean Chhi Vun, Lim Thaipheang, Tia Phalla, SengSutwantha, Hor Bunleng and Po SamnangVideo CDLanguages: Khmer with English subtitles

92-1-120160-8July 2002

1-875140-52-22002

November 2001

September 2001

April 2001

March 2001

2001

1-875140-48-4December 2000

983-40375-0-3September 2000

November 1999

Development is the process of enlarging peoples’ choices to live long and healthy lives, to have access to knowledge,and to have access to income and assets: to enjoy a decent standard of living.

ISBN: 974-92021-4-7

Capacity-building Multisectoral Partnership Policy Advocacy Resilience Development

UNDP is the United Nations global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries toknowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life.

UNDP South East Asia HIV and Development Programme, United Nations Building, Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Bangkok 10200, Thailand

Tel: +66-2-288-2165; Fax: +66-2-280-1852; Web site: www.hiv-development.org