News– According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), India currently hosts three Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS).
About Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)
- They are dynamic, community-managed farming systems that combine agrobiodiversity, traditional knowledge, and cultural heritage to promote sustainable livelihoods and ensure food security.
- Till date, the FAO has recognized 99 such systems across 29 countries.
- Recent additions to the list include a mountain agropastoral system in Tajikistan, marking Central Asia’s first GIAHS site.
- Other new inclusions are a pine tree agroforestry system and a traditional bamboo-fishery system in South Korea, and an agrosilvopastoral system in Portugal.
India’s Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)
- Koraput region, Odisha: This region is renowned for highland subsistence paddy cultivation and a rich variety of indigenous rice strains. It also preserves medicinal plants that are linked to tribal knowledge systems.
- Kuttanad farming system, Kerala: This unique below-sea-level agriculture model integrates paddy fields, coconut gardens, inland fisheries, and shell collection within a wetland ecosystem.
- Saffron Heritage of Kashmir: It represents a rich agro-pastoral system characterized by traditional saffron cultivation, intercropping, and the use of organic farming practices, all of which contribute to maintaining local biodiversity and soil health.
