A seed festival in Rajasthan’s Banswara District aimed at protecting the diversity of indigenous seeds drew enthusiastic response from agricultural communities, particularly tribal ones. Bharat Dogra reports about how tribal communities recognise the beej utsavs as an important way to restore something of great value that has been lost to a significant extent in recent decades
Some 60 villagers, both men and women, mostly from the Bheel Tribe, have gathered for a ‘seed festival’ (beej utsav) in Sera Nagal Village of Banswara District in Rajasthan. They have displayed the seeds, particularly of millet crops, that they have brought with them. The aim of the event is to strengthen the efforts of rural and tribal communities to protect the diversity of indigenous seeds.
The farmers will give some of their own seeds to others who don’t have those varieties, and take from fellow participants small quantities of the seeds they themselves lack. At the end of the meeting, these farmers will take a pledge to protect and save indigenous seeds. On their return from the seed festival, they will tell other farmers in their villages about what they heard and learnt at the meeting, and also share with them some of the seeds they carry back.
The meeting, attended by this writer recently, is representative of nearly 90 seed-protection gatherings organised from June 18 to 22 at the meeting point of the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Typically, 40 to 80 farmers from between three and 15 villages participate in these meetings, a simple yet effective way of distributing indigenous seeds as well as disseminating information about them.
A significant part of the population of the region consists of tribal communities who are known for their rich heritage of indigenous seeds, particularly millets. These tribal communities recognise the beej utsavs as an important avenue to restore to them something of great value that has been lost to a significant extent in recent decades. Rural and particularly tribal communities traditionally cultivated a wide diversity of indigenous seeds, but the advent of the Green Revolution saw the erosion of this invaluable heritage, the product of the combined efforts of farmers over hundreds, possibly thousands of years, even while, ironically, the ‘achievements’ of the Green Revolution were being celebrated.
However, once the people realised the extent of the loss they had suffered, various efforts were made to protect indigenous seeds on the fields, not just in gene banks. The seed-protection meetings were organised by a voluntary body, Vaagdhara, and various community-based bodies linked to it. Almost 1000 villages and hamlets where Vaagdhara works were covered by these meetings, at which various farmers and those with specialised knowledge of different plant varieties shared useful information and impressed on participants the urgent need to protect indigenous seeds.
Vaagdhara’s steps in this direction are noteworthy, particularly as they are accompanied by efforts to spread natural farming practices and to improve the self-reliance and resilience of rural communities, particularly tribal ones. The concept of largely self-reliant rural communities, called gram swaraj, emphasised by Mahatma Gandhi during the Freedom Movement, has been adopted by Vaagdhara as one of its leading precepts and the concept of seed self-reliance and protection of indigenous seeds is integral to this.
In this context, the beej utsavs are being regarded as a very significant step forward. The farmers, particularly women farmers, showed great enthusiasm and a demand for an annual seed festival has been raised. It is to be hoped that such events will contribute greatly to the protection of the vast diversity of indigenous seeds.
(The writer is a senior freelance journalist and author who has been associated with several social movements and initiatives. He lives in New Delhi.)
from Webdoux