Conserving High Atlas agrobiodiversity to improve Amazigh livelihoods in Morocco
Key Facts
FUNDING SCHEME Main Project
VALUE £362,686
WHERE Morocco
Summary
Erosion of traditional agricultural knowledge, adaptive local practices and plant genetic resources negatively impacts High Atlas agroecosystems that sustain a biodiversity hotspot and community livelihoods. We assist local Amazigh farmers in rural communes to improve conservation, agricultural productivity and livelihoods benefits of five locally important, genetically diverse crops. Our project cycles through phases of agrobiodiversity assessment and ex-situ conservation; on-farm selection and sustainable cultivation of promising crop varieties; knowledge exchange, seed sharing, product innovation and commercialisation; and national policy support.
Network for Agroecological Initiatives, Terre et Humanisme Maroc, Federation for the Democratic League of Women’s Rights, Cagliari Botanical Gardens, Cadi Ayyad University, Association Ait Lekak, Aska Cooperative for Women and Children, Imdoukal Znaga Cooperative, International Centre for Agriculture in the Dry Lands (ICARDA), National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), European Delegation for Family Farming in Latin America, Asia and Africa (DEAFAL), Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II, Rabat, Slow Food, Moroccan Biodiversity and Livelihoods Association