Using a complementation of field research and critical review of literature, this paper invigorates the concept of gender by examining its linkage with the crop biodiversity conservation praxis explored within the context of rice production. It contends that men and women farmers, with their divergent roles and knowledge bases, contribute to sustainable crop conservation. However, global agriculture disrupted these linkages by pursuing conservation approaches that are gender insensitive. Complementation of the ex situ (genebank) and in situ (on-farm) conservation practices does not address the problem. Rather it begs methodological and ethical questions that have significant policy implications not just on gender-interfaced rice conservation practices at the community level but also for the sustainability of the overall rice conservation initiatives. This essay focuses on the genebank approach
