5 Conservation Costs of PGRFA
The overall costs of PGRFA conservation are made up of the fiscal costs and the
opportunity costs (see Fig. 5.1). The fiscal costs, representing the costs arising for
PGRFA conservation which have to be budgeted and invested either on national or
international level, for planning, implementing and running ex situ and in situ
conservation activities, are determined by the specific conservation activities, the
depreciation costs for investments, and the costs for institutional and political
regulations for access to PGRFA. Additionally, costs for compensation and
incentives paid for maintaining PGRFA have to be reflected. Furthermore, there are
the opportunity costs, reflecting the foregone benefit for the country by maintaining
the diversity of genetic resources in the field.
Fig. 5.1. Economic concept of the costs of PGRFA conservation
Costs of PGRFA
Conservation
Costs relating to
u..al1u activities
It is important to reflect both elements of costs for the discussion of a cost
efficient conservation of PGRFA. A national program for PGRFA conservation
may have low fiscal costs due to prioritizing a low-cost in situ conservation method,
i.e., by withholding agricultural development from farmers in marginal areas. But