The word "biodiversity," coined as recently as 1985, means the sum of all plant and animal variety in a certain environment. This raises questions about the interdependence of species: If one species is removed, what are the repercussions for those that remain? What are the forces that contribute to the loss of biodiversity? What measures are we taking to arrest human forces such as careless use of weed killers, deforestation and the ceaseless march of urbanization into farm and grazing lands?

To draw attention to the issue and spur solutions to meet the challenge, the United Nations has declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity.

For several years in the past, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) focused its research on five mandate crops. Current awareness has steered the Institute toward a more holistic mission. ICRISAT's approach to preserving biodiversity is multipronged, as it entails conserving genetic resources, diversifying the uses of its mandate crops, expanding its mandate, developing farmer-friendly pest-management strategies, and employing modern tools such as geographic information systems to track the spread of land erosion and degradation to protect threatened areas and salvage areas already affected.

ICRISAT operates a genebank that, under a treaty with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, makes it the custodian of germplasm accessions of its five mandate crops and six small millets gathered in 144 countries, with 90% of these 119,000-plus accessions conserved in long-term storage. ICRISAT conserves duplicate samples at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway. Crop varieties under the ICRISAT mandate are safe, secure and freely available for all to use.

In addition to the germplasm of crop landraces, ICRISAT conserves that of wild relatives of its mandate crops. This allows crop breeders to use wide crosses to capture special traits found in the wild relatives toward the development of improved crop varieties with better ability to withstand drought, pests and disease.

Good examples are the resistance built into improved groundnut against late leaf spot, rosette diseases and the tobacco army worm. A history-making pigeonpea hybrid was developed using cytoplasmic male sterility techniques applied to genes from wild pigeonpea, as were improved pigeonpea varieties with high protein content, dwarf growth to channel nutrients into grain production, and resistance to Helicoverpa moth larvae.

ICRISAT's work on crop diversification has three objectives: improving the livelihood options of the farmer, effectively using scarce water resources, and strengthening sustainability.

Crops such as pearl millet, sorghum and groundnut are used for human consumption, and their stems and leaves make excellent fodder. Sorghum and pearl millet grains are now used as poultry feed and in the brewing industry. Sweet sorghum is a super crop, as its grain is used for food, juice from its stems is used to make ethanol, and the residue from the crushed stems and leaves is used as livestock fodder.

African market gardens add to the incomes of farmers, especially women. Photo: ICRISAT.

Biodiesel tree crop such as jatropha and pongamia can grow on degraded lands. Besides the immediate financial benefits from the sale of their oil-bearing seeds, they strengthen the capacity of the degraded land to retain water, thereby helping farmers to cultivate higher-value medicinal and aromatic crops nearby. Small irrigated plots in mostly rainfed areas of West and Central Africa, known as African market gardens, are used for growing vegetables that add to the incomes of farmers, especially women. ICRISAT and the World Vegetable Center work with these farmers to alleviate poverty and malnutrition through the production of these vegetables.

ICRISAT entomologists have researched eco-friendly methods of protecting crops from insect pests, chiefly Helicoverpa armigera. Solutions include manually shaking infested plants to dislodge pests and the manufacture of the nuclear polyhedrosis virus as a bio-pesticide. ICRISAT has developed other eco-friendly bio-pesticides and studied the effects of insecticides on untargeted insects.

ICRISAT and the International Livestock Research Institute jointly research livestock fodder derived from sorghum, pearl millet and groundnut. In Zimbabwe, ICRISAT works with goat farmers to promote livestock production through improved feed, animal health and marketing.

ICRISAT focuses on promoting sustainable rural livelihoods that capitalize on the integration of crop production, agroforestry, livestock improvement, horticulture, silviculture and bio-energy. ICRISAT deeply appreciates the partnerships involved in its mission and is grateful to individuals and institutes who complement its efforts.