Role of Indigenous Varieties
Indigenous varieties/seeds, that have potential for high yield and other characteristics like pest and drought resistance in the different soil and agro-climatic conditions, have been under-utilized and neglected. This brings us to the question, “How do we define under-utilized crops?” Diversity within species has narrowed over the last few decades. Taking the example of rice, the vast diversity comes from the different geographical regions and has special characteristics that have evolved in tune with the environment. Varieties have been found to suit fragile ecosystems like the dry-lands, coastal areas and deep water and are being conserved by farmers’ networks, being facilitated by Green Foundation.
Unfortunately, these have been neglected with the advent of the green revolution where the focus has only been to increase productivity, through a narrow genetic base backed by synthetic inputs and increased quantities of water. The fact that diversity has special significance for the maintenance and enhancement of quality and productivity in agricultural crops has been well acknowledged. As argued by the well-known geneticist, Melaku Worede, a wide variety of plant and animal species provide material for nutrition, food, feed, fiber and medicinal uses. Such diversity is also crucial to sustain current production systems, improve human diets and support biological systems, essential for sustainability/livelihood of local communities, but unfortunately has been sent into internal exile. Maintenance of species and varietal diversity in farmer’s fields is, therefore, crucial to sustainable agriculture, especially for resource poor farmers practicing agriculture under farm input management in marginal lands.
Selection and Distribution of Genetic Resources
Historically, farmers have managed many varieties and breeds according to agronomic and culinary properties. Considering the need for a wide gene pool to improve and multiply genetic resources for food and agriculture, breeding requires access to seeds and breeds from the formal and informal sectors. Open pollinated varieties, which represent an important gene pool for resource-poor farmers living in marginalized and stress-prone areas, are rapidly vanishing. They are replaced by very few hybrid varieties which require inputs not affordable by poor farmers and which entail dependence on large seed companies and increased quantities of water.
Limitations and threats associated with crops have stimulated many organic farmers, especially in the horticulture sector, to produce their own seeds. In order to do this, they have often had to rescue local varieties and develop their own system of selection and distribution. In many cases, the systems include the exchange of seeds between farmers as a fundamental instrument (e.g., bio-village seed banks).
Methodology Used
- Seed mapping.
- Seed melas/ yatras/ seed collection.
- Demo plots – community managed.
- Characterization.
- Crop improvement.
- Kitchen gardens – vegetable seed multiplication.
- Management of seed banks.
- Role of women – emphasis, identification of in situ farmers.
- Community-managed seed multiplication and seed distribution.
Organic systems encourage the preservation and expansion of older, locally-bred and indigenous varieties and breeds. Farmers who save their own seeds can gradually increase crop resistance to pests and diseases by breeding for “horizontal resistance”. Horizontal resistance is the ability of a crop to resist many or all strains of a particular pest (which differs from breeding for “vertical resistance” to have a gene to resist one specific strain of a disease). By exposing a population of plants to a certain disease or pest (or to several pests at one time), then selecting a group of the most resistant plants and inter-breeding them for several generations, a given population becomes more resistant than the original population. Horizontally resistant cultivars are well-adapted to the environment in which they were bred, but may be less suitable for other growing conditions.
Impediments in the Way
Some of the main bottle-necks for successful promotion and conservation of varietal diversity within species has been the loss of indigenous knowledge related to seed/grain, poor co-ordination between occurrence of rainfall and seed sowing, poor local processing facilities available even to be consumed as grains, and lack of value addition and poor market access.
Challenges
- Sustaining Farmers’ Interest
- Value Addition to Seeds
- Income Generation
- Policy-related Issues
- Maintenance of Purity
Challenges in developing countries go beyond conservation but to revive the lost diversity and knowledge that are two sides of a coin, to provide improved rural infrastructure which is abysmally in a poor condition; to provide facilities for processing and value addition; to motivate farmers to practice sustainable farming; to mainstream government policy to focus on sustainable farming for livelihood, nutrition, health and food security; and to bring prosperity through low-cost agriculture and management of community needs.
Sustainable farming can be organic but organic need not be sustainable. Green Foundation learnt this lesson as to how sustainable farming can be made a reality. As the process of a sustainable farming system unravels itself, alongside is needed actions around food and the security that comes from knowing what one is eating.
Women farmers who had significantly contributed gave the opening address during the gathering of farmers and invited the regional diversity into the proceedings. Karnataka, a land of bountiful diversity, was divided into six regions as Malnadu – the high rainfall area, the Aremalnadu, Rayalseema – the dry low rainfall area, Uttara kannada, Horanadu, and Karavalli – the coastal belt. From each of these areas, discussions centered on the diversity of the area, cultural practices, storage practices, indigenous knowledge in seed saving and varietal development.
