The FAO accords the status of 'Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS)' to traditional agricultural systems. What is the overall goal of this initiative?
- 1.To provide modern technology, training in modern farming methods and financial support to local communities of identified GIAHS so as to greatly enhance their agricultural productivity
- 2.To identify and safeguard eco-friendly traditional farm practices and their associated landscapes, agricultural biodiversity and knowledge systems of the local communities
- 3.To provide Geographical Indication status to all the varieties of agricultural produce in such identified GIAHS
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 2 only
FAO's GIAHS programme exists to recognise and protect living traditional farming systems, together with their landscapes, agro-biodiversity and local knowledge, through 'dynamic conservation'. It does not aim to modernise these systems for higher output, and it has nothing to do with granting Geographical Indication tags.
- ✗ 1. Replacing traditional practice with modern technology to maximise yields runs against the programme's purpose, which is to conserve heritage farming systems while keeping them viable.
- ✓ 2. FAO states the overall goal as identifying and safeguarding these heritage systems with their landscapes, agricultural biodiversity and knowledge systems.
- ✗ 3. Geographical Indications are granted under national law (in India, the Geographical Indications of Goods Act, 1999), not by FAO; a GIAHS listing confers no GI status.
Remember · GIAHS (FAO, launched 2002): dynamic conservation of traditional agricultural systems, their landscapes, agro-biodiversity and knowledge; it is recognition, not modernisation or GI tagging.
Sources
- FAO: GIAHS Background ↗ “The overall goal of the GIAHS Programme is to identify and safeguard Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems and their associated landscapes, agricultural biodiversity and knowledge systems … support such systems and enhance global, national and local benefits derived through their dynamic conservation, sustainable management and enhanced viability.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·