Around 1300 million of the world’s people live on less than US$1 a day. Poverty affects both rural and urban areas, and is associated with social problems such as malnutrition, disease, violence and poor education.

In countries where agriculture is the basis of the economy, poor agricultural systems undermine development by pushing up the cost of food, capital and other commodities. In developing countries, more than half of the labour force works in agriculture.

The rural poor represent about 73% of the people living in poverty in developing countries. They often live in marginal or unsuitable farming areas, such as zones with saline soils, arid conditions or degraded or hilly land. Their lives are marked by a lack of stability and many are landless. Often isolated from other farms, and far from urban areas, many poor farmers have been little affected by agricultural developments elsewhere. In many cases they do not have access to commercially-bred high-yielding crop varieties. Plant diversity flourishes under such conditions.

Using plant diversity to fuel development
Poor farmers are well aware of the relationship between the stability and sustainability of their production systems and the diversity of crops and crop varieties on their lands. Their management and use of a diverse range of plants has often helped them to survive under the most difficult conditions. By growing a range of different crops, farmers have a better chance of having enough of the right kinds of crops to meet their various needs and those of their families. These might include, for example, crops that mature at different times or that can be easily stored help to ensure a stable food supply throughout the year. Growing a range of crops may help farmers provide a nutritionally balanced diet for their family, exploit different environmental niches that exist on their land, or diversify their sources of income to include, for example, medicines, fuel, textiles, building materials, 'novelty' foods for export etc.

Genetic resources can improve the livelihoods of poor farmers and forest dwellers by reducing their vulnerability to shocks and seasonal changes. Given access to a new variety that produces higher-yielding disease-resistant crops, farmers can produce more food than their families need so they can sell their surplus crops at the local markets. If they have access to world markets, they can grow cash crops for export.

That will give them additional income with which to buy more clothing and household goods, thus stimulating other parts of the economy. Demand increases for the services of food processing, storage, transportation and marketing. Thus a small increase in farm output increases demand for other goods and services and becomes a catalyst for broad-based economic growth.

Then the prosperity begins to spread. The farm families, as well as those working in other parts of the economy, have more money and their demand for imported goods begins to rise. This stimulates the growth of exports from other countries. Because economic growth requires new markets for goods and services, the destinies of countries are intertwined with each other.

Hunger and poverty are complex problems for which there are no simple solutions. The line between cause and effect often blurs as poverty leads to hunger, which leads to violence and conflict, environmental destruction and the displacement of people, which in turn lead to even greater poverty and more hunger. By reducing hunger and poverty, the rehabilitation of agriculture can have an important impact on other developmental scourges, through its role in underpinning economic development, reducing poverty and preventing environmental destruction.

The Future Harvest Global Genebank Trust is seeking to make the vision of a world without poverty a reality by safeguarding the unique plant diversity held in ex situ collections of genetic resources around the world.

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