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Previous studies showed thatperiurbanagricul-tureinHyderabadplaysanimportantroleinthelivelihoodsofadiversegroupofpeoplefromdifferentcastes,religionsandsocialclasses(Buechler&Devi,2002).Theselivelihoodactivitiesaresubjecttotransitionandareinfluencedbytheconstantgrowthofthecity,withresultingeffectslikeincreas-ingpollution,growthofurbanpoverty,foodinsecurityandmalnutrition.

Agricultural Biodiversity Strengthening Livelihoods in Periurban Hyderabad, IndiaIn periurban Hyderabad, India, leafy vegetables are increasingly grown along the Musi River and sold in urban markets. This agricultural biodiversity can significantly help urban and periurban farmers become more resilient to the impacts of such changes.

Johanna JacobiAxel W. Drescher

Priyanie H. AmerasinghePhilipp Weckenbrock

During a field study in 2007 (in cooperation with theInternationalWaterManagementInstitute(IWMI)andtheUniversityofFreiburg,Germany(IPG/APT)),arapidappraisalof vegetables cultivated with wastewater irrigation wascarriedout1.Alargenumberofvegetablevarietiesappearedto flourish in thevegetablegardens,unexpectedlyalso inthosewherewastewaterwasusedforirrigation.Eventhoughparagrass,afodderplant,andricewerethedominantcropsin theperiurbanfringes, thevegetablegardensplayedanimportantrolebysupportingthelivelihoodsofsmall-scalefarmers, many of whom were women (Buechler & Devi,2002).Spinach(Spinacia oleracea)wasgrownonnearlyonethirdoftheareaundervegetablecultivation.Otherimpor-tant crops included amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) androselle(Hibiscus acetosella var. sabdariffa).Theseleafyvege-tables-traditionallyinhighdemand-haveashortgrowingseasonandfetchhighmarketpricesduetotheirusageintraditional dishes. In 2008, the study was extended tocomparecropdiversityindifferentirrigationsystemsandtoexplore its role in the livelihoods of smallholder farminggroups.Thisphaseofthestudyusedthehomegardenmodel,whichisbasedonthesustainablelivelihoodsapproach,astheoreticalbackground(Drescheret al.,2006;Drescher1998).GISmappingwascarriedouttocapturerichnessandabun-danceofvarietiesand theextentofvegetablecultivation;andsemi-structuredinterviewswereconductedwithvege-tablefarmers.

No significant differences were found in the biodiversityindices(Shannon-indexorSimpson-index)ofgardensthatusedgroundwatercomparedtothosethatusedwastewaterforirrigation.Cropdiversityplayedanimportantroleinbothsystems in strengthening the resilience of smallholders,allowingthemtospreadriskssuchasyieldlossordecreasingdemandforacertainvegetable.Perennialcropsandinter-cropping were common among farmers who owned thecultivatedlandanddisposedofawell,butmorethan70percent of the interviewees were in an insecure situationconcerninglandtenure.Therefore,fast-growingleafyvege-tableswere cultivated,mostlywithwastewater irrigation.Thesefarmerswereexposedtopollutantslikepesticidesandindustrial effluents, and fluctuating prices of food, seeds,pesticides and fertiliser. Only one third were native ofHyderabad.Theevaluatedmonthlyincomefromvegetables(inSeptember2008)perpersonwasINR1617.202.Onaverage,4.8peoplewerefarmingperacre,sothecultivationwasveryintensive. Almost half of the participants had secondarysourcesofincomebesidesvegetablecultivation,forexample

Woman harvesting spinach (Spinacea oleracea) Photo: J. Jacobi

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Schematic sketch Photo: J. Jacobi

foddergrassordairyproduction. Itwas thuspartof theirlivelihoodstrategytodiversifyincomesources,eventhoughcultivatingvegetableswasgenerallyregardedasrewardingbytheparticipants.

As theschematicdrawingillustrates, thesmallplotswereframedbyirrigationcanals.Betweentheplots,mostlyculti-vatedwithleafyvegetables,tallerplantsweregrown,eitherfor seeds (e.g.Amaranthus tricolor), for tubersand leaves(Colocasia esculenta, Ipomoea batatas) orperennialplants(Lagerstroemia parviflora).54varietiesofvegetablesfrom20familiesweremappedandidentifiedinthethreeperiurbanvillagesintheresearcharea.Amongthevegetablesmapped,18(includingcabbage)werecultivatedfortheleaves,mostofwhichwereusuallycookedlikespinach.Reasons for cultivating a broad diversity of vegetablesMore than 80 per cent of the respondents mentionedeconomicreasonsforahighcropdiversity.Statementssuchas“More varieties mean more customers and therefore more money”indicatedadiversifieddemand.Theneedtoreacttovariationinpriceswasalsomentioned,andhouse-to-housesalespractisedbysomerespondentsrequiredabroadrangeofproductsaswell.Morethanhalfoftheparticipantssaidthatdiversityrenderedthemlessvulnerabletopestinfec-tionsandyieldlosses.Allagreedthatabroaddiversitywasdesirable and the threepersonswith the lowest diversity(six varieties) mentioned their age and lack of externallabour as reasons for not cultivating a larger number ofdifferentcrops.Abroaddiversitymitigatesvulnerabilityandcanthereforeberegardedasastrategytostrengthenresi-lience(Cromwell,2001).

Farmers’ adaptation strategies Several adaptation strategies of the smallholders inter-viewed were evaluated during the study and previousresearch.Thesestrategieshelpedmakethemmoreresilienttoeconomicandecologicalstressfactorsassociatedwiththegrowingcity,limitedresourcesandsocioeconomicchanges:

• Adaptationtoglobalchangeintheformofphysicalwaterscarcity inSouth Indiacanbeobservedbymigration toperiurbanfringes(themajorityoftherespondentscametoHyderabadinsearchofworkandwater),wherewaste-waterisareliable,uncontestedsourceofirrigationwater

thatmakesitpossibletocultivatevegetablesthroughouttheyear.

• Thestudyshowsanadaptationthroughhighcropdiver-sity toseveralriskfactorssuchasattacksbypests,yieldloss,e.g.throughheavyrainfallduringthemonsoon,andfallingmarketdemandandprices.

• Adaptationtothegrowthofthecitycanbeobservedintheselection of crops with a short growing season, whichallowsmigrationtootherplotswhenthelandissoldforconstruction,aswasobservedduringthestudy.

• Ashort-termcroppingsystemof2-4weeksallowsfarmerstoreacttomarketdemandandinsecurelandtenure:mostofthefarmersreportedthattheycultivatefast-growingleafy vegetables like amaranth and spinach in order toguaranteeadailyincomeandbeabletopaythemonthlyrent(70percentleasedthelandonamonthlybasiswithno guarantee of continuation beyond the followingmonth).

• Producingperishablegoodslikeleafyvegetablesclosetothemarketswheretheycanbesoldfreshlyhastheadvan-tageofshorttransportationroutes.

• Through cultivation of their own vegetables, producerscan reduce their families’ food expenditures, whichenhancestheirresiliencewithrespecttotheglobalfoodcrisis.

• Thecultivationofleafyvegetablesisalsoinpartanadap-tiontotheuseofpollutedwater.Leafyvegetablescancopewith thehighnitrogensupplybetter thanfruit-bearingvegetables,andcanbeharvestedearlierthanthoseirri-gatedwith groundwater due to the fertilising effect ofpolluted water (amaranth: 15-30 days reported in thestudy,30-50intheliterature).

• Irrigationregulationhelpstoalleviaterisksfrompollutedwater:severalfarmersstatedthatthefieldswerenotirri-gated on dayswhen industrial effluentswere released.Thesedayswereknowntothefarmersbyexperience.

The direct advantagesofcropdiversityforthefarmersareenhancedfoodsecuritythroughdietary diversity(providing

Field preparation in Parvatapuram near HyderabadPhoto: J. Jacobi

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Agricultural Biodiversity Strengthening Livelihoods in Periurban Hyderabad, India

minerals, vitamins and proteins) facilitated by self-con-sumption of the cultivated vegetables (mentioned by allparticipants),andincomegenerationtoimprovefinancial assetsthroughthesaleandbarteringoftheirproduce.

The indirect advantages ofcropdiversityareadaptationtofluctuatinginputpricesandwaterscarcity(throughtheuseof the reliable wastewater source) and reduction of risk throughcultivationofplantswithdifferentagro-ecologicalrequirements(lossesduetothefailureofoneparticularcropcanbecompensatedwiththeyieldofanother).

Despitetheseadvantagesofcultivatingavarietyofcropsintheurbanenvironment, theproducers’ livelihoods remaininsecureintermsofecological,socialandeconomicaspects.The use of wastewater, for example, entails health risks,especially the direct risk posed by industrial wastewaterpollutedwith chemicals.An indirect economic risk isalsoposedbysoaringfertiliserprices.3

ConclusionAlthoughthereareonlyafewhundredvegetablegrowersalong the Musi, in a city of seven million, these farmersprovide an important diversity of fresh vegetables to the

marketsofHyderabad.Thestudyindicatesthatthisagricul-turalbiodiversityisperceivedasanimportantformof‘natu-ral capital’ in the livelihoods of farmers. It is determinedmostlyby thedirecteconomicbenefits to farmers,and insmallpartalsobythetypeofirrigationusedandecologicalfactors.Cropdiversityisthusmuchmorethanashort-termadaptationstrategy; it ispartoftheentirelivelihoodstra-tegy.However,itshouldbeassuredthatindustrialeffluencesareseparatedfromdomesticeffluents.Thisposesfewerrisksand is more profitable for urban and periurban farming(Krishnagopal&Simmons,2007).Cultivatingahighdiver-sity of crops in a sustainableway is knowledge intensive.Therefore, theseperiurban farmersneed tobeassisted inmeaningfulways,suchasbysettingupfarmerfieldschoolsandfocussingtheeffortsofagriculturalextensionservicesonsmall-scalefarmers.

Johanna Jacobi, Axel W. Drescher, Philipp Weckenbrock SectiononAppliedGeographyoftheTropicsandSubtropics,DepartmentofPhysicalGeography,FreiburgUniversity,Germany.Email:johannajacobi@gmx.deEmail:Axel.Drescher@geographie.uni-freiburg.de

Priyanie H. AmerasingheIWMISouthAsiaRegionalOffice,Patancheru,India.Email:P.Amerasinghe@cgiar.org

Diversified vegetable garden near Hyderabad Photo: J. Jacobi

Note1) The water from the Musi River, which is polluted by more than 600

million litres of wastewater per day (Krishnagopal & Simmons, 2007) and from the sedimentation basin Nallah Cheruvu (Telugu for black lake) was classified as wastewater. Later, a sewage plant was constructed upstream with a capacity of around 339 million litres

per day.2) € 24.70, currency rate March 2009.3) The Guardian, August 12th, 2008: “Soaring fertiliser prices threaten

world’s poorest farmers”. The Hindu 15. 8. 2008: “Millions could

starve as fertiliser prices soar”

ReferencesBuechler, S. &. Devi G. (2002): Livelihoods and Wastewater Irrigated Agriculture - Musi River in Hyderabad City, Andhra Pradesh, India. In: Urban Agriculture Magazine no.8, pp.14–17.Cromwell et al. 2001: Agriculture, Biodiversity and Livelihoods: Issues and Entry Points for Development Agencies. In: Koziell, I. & Saunders, J.: Living off Biodiversity: Exploring Livelihoods and Biodiversity Issues in Natural Resources Management, pp. 75-112.Krishnagopal, G. &. Simmons R. (2007): Urban and Periurban Agriculture: Towards better Understanding of low Income Producer Organizations. Hyderabad City Case Study. Access Livelihoods Consulting India Private Limited, Secunderabad and International Water Management Institute (IWMI), South Asia Regional Office, Patancheru, India.Drescher, A.W., Homer R.J. & Iaquinta D.L (2006): Urban Homegar-dens and Allotment Gardens for Sustainable Livelihoods: Manage-ment Strategies and Institutional Environments. In: Kumar, B. & Nair, P. (ed.): Tropical Homegardens. A Time-Tested Example of Sustainable Agroforestry, pp. 317-338.Drescher, A.W. (1998) Hausgärten in Afrikanischen Räumen - Bewirtschaftung nachhaltiger Produktionssysteme und Strategien der Ernährungssicherung in Sambia und Simbabwe = Sozioökono-mische Prozesse in Asien und Afrika, 4. Centaurus, Pfaffenweiler. Habilschrift, Geowissenschaften Uni Freiburg.

Amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor), red and green varietyPhoto: J. Jacobi