What does in situ conservation mean in the life of a small-scale farmer?
Abstract: Three periods of major genetic erosion have occurred in Zimbabwe’s recent history. The genepool of traditional crops has also been continuously enriched by geneflow across the countries borders through trading of grain and exchange of seeds. Geneflow, in the form of seed distribution, is continuing in the present day but is now largely formalized and is being carried out by government and NGO agencies. Control over genetic resources has thus shifted from being a common property right to being under the corporate control of such bodies as: drought relief operations, international agricultural research centers and multinational seed and fertilizer companies. Notwithstanding this, female, small-scale farmers have persisted with the growing of traditional crops and have distinguished themselves as ‘keepers of diversity’. Despite the urgent need of farming families to grow cash crops in order to survive in the market economy, women have emphasized the role played by the traditiona
