Promotion and conservation of traditional cultivation practices especially at the centres of crop genetic diversity is important for the global agriculture, now and in future. Conservation of genetic resources is an area dear to M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF). In 1994 a munificent grant support from Italian Government through the efforts of Prof. Scarascia Mugnozza facilitated the establishment of a Community Gene Bank under the Scarascia Mugnozza Community Genetic Resource Centre (SMGRC). The conservation approaches practiced and advocated includes in situ on-farm conservation and ex situ genebank conservation.

Since its inception actively engaged in conservation of genetic diversity or rice in Jeypore tracts of Orissa, which is a major center of rice genetic diversity, the nutritious millets in Kolli Hills of Tamil Nadu and the medicinal plants including rice varieties of medicinal value in Wayanad area of Western Ghats in Kerala. The collections are of traditional cultivars, land races includes farmer cultivated, conserved and developed varieties.

The tribal communities associated with the conservation are the Malayalis in Kolli Hills; Amanatya, Bhatra, Bhumia, Didayi, Dora, Gadaba, Gond, Goud, Halva, Harijana, Kandha, Kandhadar, Karana, Kolar, Koya, Kutia, Kuvi, Langia Soura, Paroja, Pentia, Rana, Sabarkandha, Soura and Sundhi in Jeypore; Kuruchiya, Kurumba, Mullukuruma, Paniya , Kattunayakkan in Wayanad.

The ex situ conservation under the Community Gene Bank (CGB) is distinct on few counts form the widely practiced ex situ conservation. Accessions in the ex situ gene bank are deposited by farming communities, who had evolved and conserved these material, with trusteeship entrusted with MSSRF. This gene bank is a medium storage facility maintained under controlled temperature and humidity. A duplicate of each accession is also stored at the National Gene Bank as an additional safeguard. The accessions belonging to major food crops are notable agronomic potential under different biotic and abiotic stresses.

A unique feature of the gene bank is that the material is accessible by the farming communities. The database established on each accession includes ethno-botanical and traditional knowledge associated with them, registration, passport data and characterization data with the nationally and internationally accepted scientific descriptors. DUS data is available for some accessions. Herbarium voucher specimens are also prepared and catalogued at the Community Herbarium.

The data together with the herbarium specimen provide holistic information on each accession for the purpose of establishing intellectual property rights and ownership on the varieties in concurrence with the two national laws. The two national laws are referred to “The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmer’s Rights Act”(PPVFRA Act) and the “Biological Diversity Act” (BD Act), with the help of the database, MSSRF assists the farmers to establish IPR on selected varieties in accordance with the Farmers’ Rights Act. Facilitation of access to these accessions by third parties is made under BD Act.

The importance of community based conservation programmes in safe guarding genetic resources and their relation to the nutritional and food security cannot over emphasized Community conservation plays major role to improve livelihood security of the local people. It is important in the context of global climate change. New plants may require encountering sea-level rise and more calamites in the future. Interestingly after the recent Tsunami, number of varieties brought to highlight that was conserved by farmers in the coastal area of Tamil Nadu. According to the opinions of the elder community members, many landraces familiar to them in the past are no longer available. For example, fifty years ago, the tribal communities of Eastern Ghats of India were familiar with more than 1,000 land races of rice and more recent estimates show the number had declined drastically. Therefore, promotion of safe guarding the available genetic diversity is very important.

In addition database established to describe importance of medicinal plants along with the indigenous knowledge practiced by a hill tribals located at Eastern Ghats.

MSSRF gratefully acknowledges the partnership and contributions of tribal and farming communities, officials in the NGOs and the project areas. MSSRF also thankfully acknowledges the assistance and supports received from Government of Italy, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, and Bioversity International for the successful operation of the SMGRC.