Bio-diversity

Indegenous vegetables (IVs) in Malawi play a role in the local diet of rural and peri urban communities as they contribute greatly by providing essential nutrients for growth and prevention of nutritional deficiency diseases.Despite their importance IVs such as Amaranthus (bonongwe), and Cleome gynandra (luni) have been neglected by policy makers in research.Most seed used is from very few landraces leading to narrow genetic base and low diversity for traits of agricultural interest.Excessive cultivation of exotic vegetables, deforestation and habitat change have exacerbated the rapid decline in their prioduction hence threatening their biodiversity.Associated with the loss of indegeneous vegetables is the disapearance of local knowledge for their production and use:siome of the imporatnt indegenous vegetables that are beoming scarce in Malawi include Amaranthus species and Cleome gynandra. There is no organized seed source and germplasm has not been characterized to prioritize it for conservation and multiplication. The goal of the project is to enhance contribution of indegenous vegetables to nutrition and socioeconomic values and enhance conservation of germplasm through increased production and conservation of diverse germplasm of Amarathus species and Cleome gynandra.The purpose of the project is to characterize genetic diversity,evaluate agronomic practices and select superior germplasm of the two indegenous leafy species for production and multiplication in Central Malawi.Indegenous knowledge on agrobiodiversity management of the vegetables will be collected and genetic diversity shall be characterized using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLPs).growth, yield and morphological traits shall be evaluated in different agroecological zones.The project shall identify preferred germplasm, traits and formulate strategies for improvement and conservation. The project shall involve extensive germplasm collection from isolated areas, home gardens followed by documentation of indigenous knowledge covering ethnobotany, production and consumption of Amaranthus species and Cleome gynandra. The project targets some of the poorest communities in three districts of Central Malawi namely Lilongwe (TA Chadza) Kasungu (TA Wimbe and Kapelula) and Dedza (TA Kaphuka). In total, about 6,000 households are targeted to improve nutrition and health of the communities through increased production and consumption of indigenous vegetables. The activities shall be implemented in collaboration with two other organizations: World Vision Malawi and Malawi Plant Genetic Resource Centre. World Vision has been a regular customer of indigenous vegetables produced by the Department of Forestry and Horticulture for distribution to farmers in Kasungu and Dedza, however the demand has been very high and the department has failed to supply as required hence need to involve the farmers themsleves for production of seed. Department of Horticulture shall identify farmers in collaboartion with WVI while NPGRC, who are the custodians of the National Plant Genetic Resource Centre, shall provide expertise in plant genetic resources management including mapping out geographical distribution, collection and documentation of accessions of indigenous vegetables, phenotypic characterization using Descriptor lists of the two indigenous vegetables. On-farm, demonstration plots and in situ conservation actions will be strengthened and the project will contribute to development of human and institutional capacity to fully integrate utilization of indigenous vegetables for conservation and apply molecular markers in conservation of indigenous leafy vegetables in Malawi. The project activities are directly in line with conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity. Projects Objective 1.to document farmers indegenous knowledge on Amaranthus species and Cleome gynandra diversity,management and assess their contribution to food security 2. to assess the genetic relationship of each species among germplasm using molecular markers 3. to document and evaluate field agronomic practices of indegenous vegetables for yield, quality and morphological traits 4. promote production and conservation of the species in home gardens in rural, urban and peri-urban areas. Implementation strategy - assessment of status of IVs in the area - collection of scientific data on genetic and morphological characteristics of IVs - awareness raising and sensitization campaigns on IVs in the project area - provision of start-up equipment/materials to communities - build a critical mass of communities able and willing to sustainably manage and generate benefits from their environment Key Project Outcomes Increased number of households growing, utilizing and selling IVs in the project area. Active farmer groups in seed multiplication and production of indigenous vegetables with women in decision making roles. A molecular marker tool and defined agronomical protocols that will provide a reliable mechanism for farmers and communities to rapidly select seed. well-defined methods developed for use of molecular markers for evaluation of genetic diversity of germplasm and confirmation with indigenous knowledge and agromorphological characterization. Augmented Malawi National Gene Bank, courtesy of new accessions from IVs Improved human and institutional capacity in conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity. Indigenous knowledge on production, seed selection, stor

Malawi