Plant Resource Domestication (PRD) is generally accepted as a continuum of different phases of human-plant interactions but its value in the development of agriculture remains to be explored. The origin of PRD can be traced to an initial transfer of valuable native plants from their natural habitats to agricultural ecosystems. The later phase of the domestication process involves the genetic improvement of cultivated plants. Plants subjected to the different aspects of domestication manifest a modification to their form and an enhancement of their function. As cultivated plants manifest profound changes in morphology and physiology so also they progress into becoming crops that are highly productive. The higher productivity that defines the latter stages of PRD is often achieved through series of selection and plant breeding programmes. These stages or Plant Development Levels provide clues into the development pattern intrinsic to agriculture and inform the proposal concerning the nature of agriculture as well as its development.

Biodiversity and Wildlife are relatively recent concepts in Agriculture. However, the meaning of each concept remains to be clearly distinguished from similar concept in Natural Resource Conservation. The concepts of Biodiversity and Wildlife in Agriculture may be better understood when explored from the perspective of Resource Domestication. Relocation of a resource from its natural habitat into human-controlled environments represents an initial phase in the process of domestication. The final phase of Resource Domestication entails selection of desired production traits in established populations through breeding programs. A more complex relationship emerges in the course of transforming a wild plant into a crop or a wild animal into a livestock. The new relationship between a resource and its domestic form served as the framework for understanding Biodiversity and Wildlife in Agriculture.

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