Bioversity International celebrates the International Women's Day

When asked about her incentive for conserving quinoa diversity, Doña Adeleiva said it was to keep the memory of her son alive and to continue the important work he began for the benefit of their community.

She is a custodian farmer: a passionate individual that has taken on the task of conserving an enormous genetic heritage, in her own fields and for no other reason than for the understanding of the value of this resource to her community. In her farm in a small village near Puno, Doña Adeleiva and her husband conserve 120 varieties of quinoa, a highly nutritious traditional grain that can thrive even in the harsh conditions of the Andes.

Dr. Stefano Padulosi, a senior scientist who coordinates Bioversity’s project on Neglected and Underutilized species, is convinced that “Recognizing the role played by farmers as guardians of local diversity is a powerful way to reinforce the self-esteem of community members and thus to contribute towards a self-sustaining and virtuous circle for on-farm conservation.”

Learn more about Neglected and Underutilized species.

Tajikan is a walnut and fruit tree farmer, who thanks to a project with Bioversity and partners, is able to teach her children to make a living out of apple diversity. 

Tajikan never regretted moving back to her home land in Urumbash, Kyrgyzstan after almost a decade of living in Siberia, and can't imagine her life without the forest. About the past years of work, she says: "I didn't really know about different kinds of apples. Now I do, I know which ones I want and how to grow them. I have taught my children how to take care of the trees and, Insha'Allah, when I have a daughter-in-law, her children will also work in the garden. I will try to make sure that they stay in our village, able to make a living, and don't leave for the cities."

Tajikan's community's work has inspired villagers of Kara-alma, a village across the river. They started making products with fruits, selling them at the market, and people from other villages now prefer to come to Urumbash to buy samplings of traditional apple varieties, a trend that is growing rapidly.

Learn more about Fruit trees and their custodians in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Ensuring that women continue to play a leading role in the production and marketing of African Leafy Vegetables is important because it helps to empower them economically and socially.

Since Grace’s family has started growing traditional leafy vegetables and selling them to local supermarkets chains in and around Nairobi, the family’s income has increased significantly. This is good news for Edith – Grace’s daughter – since Grace has been able to set aside enough money from the sale of the profitable vegetables to pay for her daughter’s schooling.

We need to ensure that Grace and other women farmers like her will continue to reap the benefits that have come with the return of traditional leafy vegetables.

Read more about the successes of the African Leafy Vegetable project.