GIAHS Programme

GIAHS Programme Latest News

Recently, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare informed the Lok Sabha that India currently hosts three Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS).

About GIAHS Programme

• The Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) is a Food and Agriculture Organization’s programme launched at the World Summit for Sustainable Development in 2002.
• It was launched in response to global threats to family farming and traditional agricultural systems, such as climate change, community displacements and
  biodiversity loss.
• It is aiming to strike a balance between conservation, sustainable adaptation and socioeconomic development, the programme helps to mitigate the threats faced by farmers while enhancing the benefits of farming systems.
• It uses a multistakeholder approach, GIAHS provides
  • Technical assistance, promotes the value of traditional agricultural knowledge and stimulates markets for agricultural products, agrotourism and other market opportunities.

India’s GIAHS

• Koraput region (Odisha): It is renowned for its subsistence paddy cultivation, predominantly on highland slopes, and is home to a vast diversity of paddy landraces and farmer-developed varieties.
• It also harbors rich genetic resources of medicinal plants, deeply interwoven with the indigenous tribal communities and their traditional knowledge systems.
• Kuttanad system (Kerala): It is a unique below-sea-level farming landscape, comprising wetlands for paddy cultivation and fish catching, garden lands for coconut and food crops, and inland water bodies for fishing and shell collection.
• Saffron Park of Kashmir: It represents a rich agro-pastoral system characterized by traditional saffron cultivation, intercropping, and the use of organic farming practices, all of which contribute to maintaining local biodiversity and soil health.

Source: PIB

‹ ›