Fast facts about agricultural biodiversity

Agriculture originated during the Neolithic Age, around 8000 BC. Social groups of hunter-gatherers living in favourable environments gradually made the transition to a more settled lifestyle, which was associated with the regular cultivation of plants. Most of the crops that are important to us today were already domesticated in prehistoric times.

Tomatoes grew first in South America. Explorers brought them back to Europe in the 1500s.

Bananas originally came from Southeast Asia. They were probably the first fruit to be farmed by humans.

Carrots grew in the area of Afghanistan around 3000 years ago and slowly spread to the Mediterranean. The ancient Greeks and Romans knew them well. They used carrot juice to cure stomach problems. The first carrots were white, purple and yellow.

Potatoes originally came from the Andean Mountains of South America, where they were important to the diet of the Inca people.

Wheat got its start in Syria. It is believed that it has been cultivated for over 10 000 years.

Peppers first grew in Central and South America. They were introduced to Europe by Christopher Columbus.

Onions probably originated in Central Asia. In Ancient Egypt, onions symbolized the universe and their images appear on pyramids dating back to 2500 BC.

Scientists think that maize grew first in South America over 10 000 years ago.

While serving as Minister to France, Thomas Jefferson once pocketed some “Piedmont rice” and smuggled it out of Italy. He has been quoted saying, “the greatest service which can be rendered any country is to add a useful plant to its culture”. Little did he know, the penalty for crop lifting would have been death!

Of the 3,000 tropical fruits only four–banana, mango, pineapple and papaya–are produced in any quantity on a global scale.

Of the 10,000 grasses only seven–wheat, rice, maize, barley, sorghum, rye and oats–are employed globally.

Of the 18,000 legumes, only six–peas, beans, soybeans, peanuts, alfalfa and clover–are used intensively, despite the fact that legumes tend to be remarkably rugged and nutritious plants.

Research indicates that by 2055 climate change will cause more than half of 23 crops studied to lose land suitable for their cultivation. This loss will fall disproportionately on sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, regions of the world that have the least capacity to cope.

Scientists have concluded that 128,000 of Europe’s new cancers have been brought on by obesity.

Increased productivity resulting from improved crop varieties – the product of plant breeding — has saved 600 million hectares of forests and other natural landscapes from being converted to agriculture.

A crop genebank is a facility for conserving, managing and reproducing the diversity of crop varieties and their wild relatives. Today, FAO’s World Information and Early Warning System on Plant Genetic Resources (WIEWS) lists nearly 1 470 genebanks worldwide; nearly two thirds of these are in developing countries. Between them, the world’s genebanks maintain more than 5.4 million accessions–although many of the accessions are duplicates so the total of genuinely distinct accessions is probably less than two million. More than a third of the total accessions are held by 15 national genebanks.