Indigenous food systems, biocultural heritage and agricultural resilience

Across the world, indigenous peoples’ food systems are biodiverse, nutritious, climate resilient and low carbon. They play a critical role in the food security, cultural identity, health and wellbeing of some 370-500 million indigenous people. Yet indigenous food systems are often viewed as ‘backward’ and are rarely supported by governments. They face threats from agricultural modernisation, top-down development schemes, and conservation initiatives that impose restrictions on harvesting. IIED is working with partners in the UK, China, India and Kenya to establish a new partnership and network for interdisciplinary research on indigenous food systems. The aim is to link humanities academics, agriculture researchers and indigenous peoples to design new interdisciplinary research on indigenous food systems past and present, from farm to plate, and enhance evidence on the role of indigenous crops in agricultural resilience.