ABSTRACT
There is an active debate surrounding the relationship between dissemination of high yielding modern varieties (MVs) and erosion of plant genetic diversity, as the former is often argued to have the potential to induce genetic uniformity rather than crop diversity. While there is a line of thought that MVs are having an important role in maintaining and enriching genetic diversity (Wood and Lenne 1997), their introduction is also associated with an increase in farmers’ opportunity cost to cultivate landraces. The present study examines a least-cost option for landrace conservation under the potential challenge from MV dissemination, through the creation of so-called market based instruments (MBIs). Least-cost conservation strategies would be best suited in those sites which are highly ranked in terms of both public as well as private benefits from in situ agrobiodiversity conservation (Smale et al. 2004).
