Une approche de la conservation in situ par l'étude d'un système semencier informel : Cas du cocotier au vanuatu (Pacifique Sud)

Abstract

In many small countries of the South Pacific, the production of copra has a predominant place in the rural economy. To provide high-yielding planting material to farmers, coconut cultivars are usually selected by a research institution and improved seeds are produced in centralized seed-gardens. In the Vanuatu archipelago, the dissemination of such a type of material is slowed down by the fact that the villages are difficult to reach, by the cost of transport, and by the cost of the seeds, especially when the price of copra is low. So, farmers get their planting material at a low cost mainly through an informal system of seed selection and supply. In 1995, the COGENT network initiated a survey on the coconut cultivars that are conserved in situ by the farmers in Asia and in the South Pacific. In Vanuatu, the first results of this survey show that there is a wide range of morphological types of coconut identified by the farmers and also a lot of uses which can be related to these types. The possibility to improve the informal system of seed supply while maintaining a large coconut genetic diversity by in situ conservation is discussed.