Using open-access software and an integration of indigenous and scientific knowledge, each student involved in the program interviewed 144 different farm households about the species of legumes they grew and valued. Interviews were separated into stratified random samples of cultural identity, agroecological zone, gender, and wealth status, and focused on the key attributes of different legume varieties, as well as their nutritional and medicinal values and any changes in abundance within the community. The results of these interviews found that more legume varieties were available at a community level as opposed to the ones grown in a single household. Farmers showed that they understood that some crops were more useful at the community level as they plant some crops one year, while planting other crops the next. However, very few legume varieties are being used by farmers in a community, which can be expected if climate is changing so that some regions are becoming less hospitable while others are becoming more hospitable. Most varieties of legumes are only used by less than a third of the community, although farmers know about the other varieties that exist in their community. Although there is no focused effort on conserving diversity of legumes, farmer’s ratings of legume varieties indicate significant difference in traits, including many that facilitate climate adaptions, such as drought tolerance. Overall, despite the lack of a concentrated effort to support legume diversity, conservation of traditional legume varieties can aid in the adaptation to climate change. Farmers’ use of a variety of species of legumes can help create a buffer toward such climate change, although there is research left to be done to see how crop diversity can continue to add resilience to small-holder farming systems.
Visiting Scholars Series
February 28, 2022
Keynote Address by Dr. Alison Power Hosted by Purdue University Honors College
IDEAS MAGAZINE / VOL.4
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