At a broader conceptual level, however, biodiversity in food production systems is not restricted to biological diversity alone but also encompasses the different ways in which land and water resources are employed in production and aspects of cultural diversity in how humans interact with the food production ecosystems.

In India, agricultural policies targeted at achieving food security outcomes have narrowly focused on increasing the production of wheat and rice leading to a decline in the cultivation of grains such as millets and consequently their representation in our diets. This has led to loss of crop diversity and negative conse-quences on nutrition security of people living in rain-fed areas. Millets are eminently suitable for rain-fed areas as they are adapted to conditions of low water availability. The needless shift of cultivation from millets has brought with it livelihood loss as farmers have suffered crop losses due to wheat and rice crops failing under conditions of poor rainfall. Moreover, promotion of resource intensive crops in such resource starved regions has led to over-extraction of natural resources and water and soil contamination because of excessive use of chemical fertilizers. This is only one of the many examples that demonstrate how the loss of agricultural biodiversity leads to livelihood insecurity.

Other forms of biodiverse production systems include agro-forestry and agri-horticulture that help farmers reduce their vulnerability to climate change impacts. These models promote practices such as green-manuring and inter-cropping with legumes that help depleted soils to regain health and productive potential. More offbeat systems of bio-diverse production systems include the cultivation of fishes and shrimps in paddy fields. These forms of agricultural diversity are not only less vulnerable to climate impacts but also represent new revenue streams for the farmer. Each species in an agro-ecosystem is part of a complex web of ecological relationships connected by flows of materials and energy. This explains why decline in diversity of agricultural systems leads to breaks in many of these ecological flows and thereby an overall reduction in productive potential.

Agricultural policies must value and actively promote agricultural biodiversity through appropriate mechanisms that incentivise farmers to shift back to a more diverse cultivation portfolio and also in parallel strengthen the market for these crops through promotional strategies such as the inclusion of millets in government programmes such as the mid-day meal scheme. Such measures will lead to the regeneration of localised food systems that also reinvigorate the local rural economy.

Conservation of local biodiversity and sustainable management of natural resources form a positive feedback loop with each enhancing the other and leading to positive outcomes for overall ecological sustainability.

Sustainable management of land and water not only allows the conservation of these natural resources resulting in improved water security and soil health but also yields considerable co-benefits in terms of biodiversity regeneration. Improved availability of water in the ground promotes rapid biomass generation and improved green cover which in turn creates suitable conditions for enhanced local biodiversity.

Improved local biodiversity in turn sustains the food production systems in multiple ways. Pollination agents such as bees, whose population has seen a rapid decline over the years, make a comeback. Other local fauna act as natural systems of pest control. The diversity in soil micro-organisms enables more efficient nutrient recycling. Improved green cover of trees help in preventing soil erosion losses and recharge of groundwater.

Many traditional practices rooted in religio-cultural ethos have nurtured biodiversity in food production systems, pointing to an entrenched understanding of ecological systems in traditional knowledge. While practices are often linked with folklore and mythology, their origins might arguably be traced to sound ecological understanding based on scientific principles and considerations of biodiversity conservation and sustainability. For example, certain cultures render the hunting of pregnant animals or fishing during the breeding season of fish as taboo. Similarly, honey gatherers often leave a part of the honeycomb untouched allowing the bees to re-colonise and rebuild it. Such cultural practices allow the stock of these species to be replenished and thus lead to the sustainability of these natural food production systems.

The practice of conserving patches of forest as sacred groves that are identified as the abode of local deities has meant that oases of biodiversity have survived even in the face of rampant deforestation in many forested areas. The tradition of maintaining seed banks in villages have led to a rediscovery of traditional varieties that were thought to be lost because of the popularity of modern varieties. These examples from traditional cultures across the world indicate that cultural and biological diversity in food production systems have evolved in tandem with one shaping the other and with the consequence that they are intrinsically linked.

With advances in food processing, packaging and transportation technologies and infrastructure; food has become a global commodity that is increasingly being controlled by a few commercial actors. For e.g., the world’s largest seed company accounts for 23% of the global proprietary seed market. These are market factors that are aiding and abetting the loss of biodiversity in production systems with the consequence that the immense diversity of traditional varieties and breeds are being replaced by a relatively small number of varieties being aggressively marketed by these companies. Such standardisation of crop varieties and the elimination of the diversity of traditional varieties will be inimical to being able to adapt to shifting agro-meteorological conditions that are expected as the impacts of climate change intensify. A further looming threat is the promotion of genetically modified crops that threaten to play havoc with the health of both the people and the food production ecosystems.

Protecting our agricultural diversity and promoting crop diversity will be essential to the future viability of the agricultural sector and meeting food security outcomes, especially in the face of projected climate change impacts. Policy and institutional reforms and the convergence of the efforts of multiple stakeholders are needed to sustain and regenerate agricultural biodiversity and agro-ecosystem functions and thereby to return control over food production systems to the farmers and strengthen local food systems and cultures. q