Ensuring food security in the small islands of Maluku: A community genebank approach

As a province composed of hundreds of small islands, Maluku is highly susceptible to decreasing biodiversity of plant resources for agriculture. Pressures from pests and disease infestations, difficulty of seed storage, market demands for specific cultivars, and the introduction of new superior varieties are decreasing crop and plant genetic diversity and will impact the food security in the islands. The establishment of community genebanks is proposed to ensure the continuing existence of plant genetic resources and thus the food security of the islands of Maluku Province. The development of facilities and training of personnel to support the survey, collection, and conservation of materials is required, in part to facilitate their cycling of the crop/plant materials to farmers in need. Also required is the study of role and the problems faced by farmers in order to propose supports for bio-diversity that maybe sociological as well as technological.