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10 Appendices
Appendix 3: Examples of the decline in varietal diversity ofPGRFA
Country
Argentina
Chile
China d
Costa Rica
Reduction of cultivated area for local
varieties
Amaranthus, quinoa
Varieties of maize and phaseolus
vulgaris
Complete replacement of local
varieties
Amaranthus, quinoa
Varieties of potato, oats, barley,
lentils, watermelon, tomato and
wheat
Of 10,000 wheat varieties used in
1949 only 1,000 were still in use
by the 1970s 1975
100% of the rice-area is planted to
modern varieties
Ethiopia
India"
Barley varieties
Durum wheat
Malaysia,
Philippines,
Thailand b
Mexico
Republic of Korea
Sri Lanka b
Uruguay
USA c
From 30,000 varieties to 75% of
production from less than 10 varieties
Rice, maize, and fruit varieties
Only 20% of the local varieties
reported in 1930 are now known in
Mexico
From 2,000 rice varieties in 1959 to 5
major varieties today
74% of varieties of 14 crops being
grown on particular farms in 1985
had been replaced by 1993
Wheat varieties
Of the 7,098 apple varieties
documented in the US Department
of Agriculture as having been in
use between 1804 and 1904,
approximately 86% have been lost
95% of the cabbage varieties
91 % of the field maize varieties
94% of the pea varieties
81 % of the tomato varieties
Source: Country Reports of Argentina, Chile; China, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Mexico, Republic
of Korea, Uruguay,
": FAO, 1993a; b: FAO, 1996a; c: Fowler, 1994; d: Kush, 1996