Local Markets: Agrobiodiversity Reservoirs and Access Points for Farmers' Plant Propagation Materials

Local markets are access points to local agrobiodiversity and to part of the informal seed systems on which most small-scale farmers worldwide depend. With the urgent need for more sustainable food systems, detailed studies of the food plant diversity in local markets contribute to a better understanding of the role of local markets in a functioning rural food system. In particular, the products that farmers trade and also use for plant propagation are of interest, i.e., seeds and other propagules such as cuttings, pseudostems, rhizomes, or tubers purposes, since they represent our genetic capital for food production. This study aims to show the role of local markets as access points for plant propagation materials and their contribution to regional in situ conservation of local food plant resources.