'Kulagar’- A potential system to conserve crop diversity

Abstract

Goa and Konkan region of Maharashtra are parts of Western Ghats with huge diversity of fl ora and fauna. Hot-humid climate with heavy monsoon makes this area a biodiversity hotspot. Farmers of this region have a conventional, multitier, homestead system of gardening called kulagar, inherited from their ancestors, to cultivate and conserve the local crop plants near their household. It is an integrated system with the skeletal component as areca nut palms. Other types of crops included in the system are cash crops, plantation crops, spices, fruits, local vegetables, medicinal and aromatic plants and fl ower crops. Some of the kulagars include animal components to make the system cost effective and holistic. Bioresource conservation, crop diversifi cation, recycling of the resources, value addition and processing and byproduct utilization are important features of a kulagar. Advanced crop production technologies are being incorporated in kulagar by the new generation farmers to make it sustainable and economically viable.