In the 21st century, rural women in developing countries hold the key to the future of the Earth's agricultural systems and to food and livelihood security through their roles in the selection of seed, the management of small livestock and the conservation and sustainable use of plant and animal diversity. Rural women's key role as food providers and food producers links them directly to the management of genetic resources for food and agriculture and has given them unique knowledge of local species, ecosystems and their use acquired from centuries of practical experience. The poorest farming communities are those that live in marginal and heterogeneous environments that have benefited least from modern high-yielding plant varieties. Up to 90 percent of the planting material of such farmers may be derived from the seeds and germplasm that they produce, select and save themselves.
Such subsistence farmers cannot afford external inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, veterinary products, high quality feeds and fuel for cooking and heating. They rely on maintaining a wide diversity of crops and wild plants and animal breeds and strains that are adapted to the local environment in order to protect against crop failure and animal disease or death, to provide a continuous and varied food supply and to ward against hunger and malnutrition. In many areas, the majority of smallholder farmers are women.