Agricultural biodiversity and the real solutions

we need

Adelita San Vicente Tello

Accumulated knowledge

“The agriculture, is one of the three most important humanity inventions, along with the

fire use, and the mechanical strength use”. (Bernal,1979)

Plants domestication10,000 a 8,000 A.C.

GREENREVOLUTION

1930-1960

1996 MODERN BIOTECH

4,000 AC 2,000 DC

1,000 DC

1950

S E E D S: C O M M O N G O O D COMMO-DITIES

Mesoamérica One of the eight crop species

origin centers

Mesoamérica:Corn, bean, squash, chile, tomatoes

Andes:Potatoes quinoa

Mediterra-neanOats, rape

Etiopía:Sorghum, millet

Central AsiaWheat

Near EastBarley, rye, wheat, peas

Indo-Malaysian:Rice, banana, sugarcane , yam

China: Rice, soy bean, millet “foxtail”

Countries with great biological and cultural diversity

Mega-diverse

countries: País Plantas

vascularesBrasil 56,215

Colombia 48,000

China 32,200

Indonesia 29,375

México 23,424

Venezuela 21,073

Ecuador 21,000

Perú 17,144

Australia 15,638

Madagascar 9,505

Congo 6,000

Half of the world`s languages are

concentrated in eight countries:

Papúa Nueva Guinea

820

Indonesia 742

Nigeria 516

India 427

México 297

Camerún 280

Australia 275

China 241

China

Indonesia

México

Countries with a great cultural diversity

Countries with a great biological diversity

Fuentes: CONABIO y Worldwatch Institute

Biocultural countries

Agrobiodiversity Product of: ancestral knowledge - agroecosystem

and local variety

Foto de Francisco Álvarez Quiñones; Chiapas

Sembrador Códice Fejérváry Mayer – BMNAH Fotografía: Carmen Loyola

México: agriculture is a part of a worldview, a México: agriculture is a part of a worldview, a form of relationship withform of relationship with nature nature

Current territories of Mexico indigenous peoples

Fuente: Eckart Boege, 2009.

Locations:

From 40 to 69%

From 70 and more

Municipalities:Less than 5,000 indigenous popilation

Less of 40% and more of 5,000 indigenous popilation

Con menos del 40% y más de 5000 indígenas

Locations with more than 40% of indigenous population and the municipalities types

Dominant language in locations with more than 40% indigenous population according the volume population

There are 68 languages recognized

The 2010 census is wing 5.7 millones* identify themselves as indigenous,

more than 13% of mexicans** Raised in 5 years?

* For ages 3 and over.**112 336 538 people reside in the Mexican territory

Distribution of indigenous population

Indicator 2005

total indigenous

Total population

High and very high marginalized Municipality population

Source: CDI-PNUD Indigenous population Indicator system based on: Inegi Population census

Land property

Property Surface %

Social property: Ejidos, communities and neighborhoods 56.1

Private property 35.7

National lands 3.7

Others 4.5

Total 100

Social property: Ejidos, communities and neighborhoods.

Private property

Varied propierty

Municipal Distribution according to the land tenure

The mexican biodiversity

CalabazastomatoeAguacate

Chile

Chiles

Nochebuena

15.4% of the global food system species comes from domestic plants

in Mesoamerica.

Girasol

jicama

guava

cotton

beans

vainillacocoa

barbasco

arnicaSun flower

Christmas eve flower

avocado squash

amaranto

Foto CodiceEhecatl and the man seated represents the corn folded

plant. C. L. Códice Fejerváry Mayer.Códice Cuautinchan. Foto: Robert Bye

The corn allowed to the Mesoamerican population to build a civilization with a system thought, a culture, a worldview, gods

“Thanks to the link both actors took on a different nature. The union entered into the maize molecular privacy to make it more useful to humanity and useless for it, that is, it was domesticated. Also was tamed the man, changing his social character”. Alfredo López Austin

The corn created a culture

“The corn is an invention of ours, and in turn the corn invented us”.

Guillermo Bonfil Batalla

“We are women and men of corn”. Popol Vuh