The rural farmer and plant genetic resources conservation: A case study in the Fanteakwa District in the Eastern Region of Ghana

English

The methods of conservation used by rural farmers were studied in the Fanteakwa District in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Ten rural communities were randomly selected, and10 rural farmers were interviewed in each community. Questions posed ranged from methods of conservation to traditional belief systems associated with conserving certain plants. It was observed at the end of the study that rural farmers are true conservers and their basically traditional methods of conservation are handed down to them from generation to generation. An example of these traditional methods is ntute, used to conserve cocoyam. However, most methods used by rural farmers are mostly effective on the short-term basis, according to scientists of the Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute (PGRRI), which has necessitated the need for long-term conservation methods. Also, it was established that some traditional belief systems associated with conservation had helped rural farmers to conserve certain plants. In all these, rural farmers have, in their own small ways, contributed to the sustainability of plants for a considerable period.

Bennett-Lartey, S. O.; Asiedu-Darko, E.