FAO AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE:
In developed and developing countries all over the world, farmers and indigenous and local
communities have traditional knowledge, expertise, skills and practices related to food
security and to food and agricultural production and diversity. Since its creation in 1945,
FAO has recognized the significant contributions these make to food and agriculture, and
the relevance of on-farm/in situ and ex situ conservation of genetic resources for food and
agriculture. Over the decades, FAO has included traditional and local knowledge and activities
in policies, programmes and projects related to a wide range of issues, including farmers’
rights, poverty alleviation, nutrition and health, and gender equity, among many others.
More recently, it has used traditional knowledge to tackle the emerging problems of soaring
food prices and climate change.
Traditional farming, fishing, pastoralism/herding, foraging and forestry are based on longestablished
knowledge and practices that help to ensure food and agricultural diversity,
valuable landscape and seascape features, livelihoods and food security. However, traditional
livelihoods and indigenous plant varieties, landraces and animal breeds are now
increasingly endangered by large-scale commercialization of agriculture, population dynamics,
land-use/cover changes and the impacts of climate change.
FAO is developing innovative projects that support the use of traditional knowledge to promote
rural development, gender equity, conservation of biocultural diversity, and sustainable
management of agro-ecosystems, among others. At the same time, the projects seek
to manage the risks to food and agriculture that result from natural and human-induced
disasters, climate change impacts, soaring food prices and other emerging issues. FAO is
also promoting international and interdisciplinary collaboration to strengthen the interface
between traditional knowledge and cutting-edge science and technology, to help maintain
and enhance the world’s food and agricultural diversity and sustainability.
© FAO 2009