The dynamics of crop infraspecific diversity: A conceptual framework at the farmer level 1

There is an increasing concern over the loss of germplasm diversity in areas of crop domestication. Nevertheless in these areas many farmers continue to maintain a pool of varieties, many of them landraces, despite the fact that they have also incorporated improved varieties, and that some landraces have been eliminated. This paper provides a framework for analyzing the decision of a farmer to maintain, incorporate or discard a variety from his/her repertoire of varieties of one crop. It is based on an analysis of the roles that crop infraspecific diversity can play in a farmer’s well-being, how these roles change, the limits to these changes, and some predictions and suggestions derived from this framework.