In situ conservation of agrobiodiversity in Nam Nung commune in Vietnam was studied to provide scientific foundation for on-farm conservation of diverse crops, to diversify crop varieties and to stabilize the living conditions for the local people. The area has a diversified collection of crops, with more than 30 different local crops. They are only from surveyed households interviewed by the study group. In fact, crop diversity is much higher. Local people like to preserve these different crops for different reasons such as natural, economic, custom and personal preference. Besides traditional, local crops, farmers also bring in new crops and varieties for economic and income purposes. In Nam Nung, crop diversity is high, especially for upland rice. Socioethnic characteristics also affect the activities related to keeping seeds and conservation of upland rice varieties. There is a difference in thought and opinion about variety conservation between high- and low-income groups. The crop genetic resources in the studied villages are very rich and diverse. This diversity is dependent on many agroecological and socioeconomic conditions in the region and has numerous precious traits that need to be conserved for food security, sustainable agriculture and rural development. At present, the crop genetic resources in Daklak are eroding at an increasing rate because of the introduction of high-yield crop varieties, fast development of industrial trees such as coffee and rubber for the sake of income increase, climate changes leading to unexpected loss by drought, floods, and forest fire, among others. The proper understanding of the abovementioned reasons and the needs for local traditional crops and species may help promote their in situ conservation on-farm.
