According to FAO(1999) agro-biodiversity is the variety and variability of animals, plants and micro-organisms that are used directly or indirectly for food and agriculture, including crops, livestock, forestry and fisheries. It comprises the diversity of genetic resources (varieties, breeds) and species used for food, fodder, fibre, fuel and pharmaceuticals. It also includes the diversity of non-harvested species that support production (soil micro-organisms, predators, pollinators), and those in the wider environment that support agro-ecosystems (agricultural, pastoral, forest and aquatic) as well as the diversity of the agro-ecosystems. Agro-biodiversity is a broad term that encompasses all components of biological diversity of relevance to food and agriculture as well as the larger agricultural ecosystems that contribute to production. Agro-biodiversity is the source of genetic material that is vital to future generations.

            By the year 2050, the world population is projected to reach over 9 billion. In a world where more than 900 million (some 16 % of the world population) are already malnourished, this continuing growth presents a major challenge to achieving food and nutrition security. Meeting the needs of this increasing population, overcoming shortfalls in food production and ensuring that available produce reaches people in need are major challenges to global agriculture (FAO 2010 ). These challenges must be met in ways that are sustainable and ensure the availability of resources for future generations. At the same time, agriculture needs to confront the effects of climate change, increasing competition for water, loss of productive land and competition for available land, continued migration from rural to urban areas and the growing social concerns about the nature of the food production system. The focus of agricultural improvement on achieving caloric sufficiency has left many hundreds of millions of people still suffering from deficiencies in essential vitamins and micronutrients in their diet (FAO 2010). The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has calculated that in 1990 the global loss of productivity through hunger and malnutrition was 46 million person years (FAO 2001). The World Health Organization (WHO 2008) estimates that over 1.62 billion people of whom 600 million are children suffer from anaemia, caused in over half of the cases by deficiencies in essential minerals and micronutrients.

        Many small-scale farmers still make extensive use of the plant diversity present in their surroundings. This includes use for home consumption, as dietary sources during crises, for medicines. However due to developing agriculture and green revolution development of new productive varieties has led local and indigenous varieties to become less favoured. Such valuable genetic resources are lost before being fully utilized. These neglected and less prefered crops and species have great untapped potential to support smallholder farmers and rural communities by improving their incomes and food and nutritional security while also sustaining the genetic resources needed to address present and future environmental challenges. Conservation of such diverse species and varieties is the option to ensure the utilization of their capacity to address food and nutrition security. Conservation can be done either in-situ i.e. in fields, biological reserves or by ex-situ method i.e. in botanical garden, gene bank, seed bank.