Sowing the Seeds of Innovation*

By Zablon Odhiambo**

June 16, 2005

Farmers are looking to adopt drought resistant varieties of seeds that will help stem huge production losses on farms

Every day, members of Chinnikate—a small village in the semi-arid region of Harveri district in India—follow each other to the local temple to submit their contributions of indigenous seed varieties.

They are being driven by a desire to adopt drought resistant varieties of seeds that will help stem huge production losses in the farm in this dryland area.

Women carry earthen pots from their homes, in which assortments of seeds, also from their homes, are stored. A portion of the village temple has been set aside to house the village seed bank.

Through an initiative spearheaded by the Genetic Resource Energy Ecology Nutrition Foundation (Green Foundation – commonly referred to as GF) in some villages, local communities have so far established 50 seed banks.

It was not until dodda jola (big grain), a sorghum variety, was traced and revived, that the villagers of Chinnikate appreciated their own abilities in sorting, sampling and storing indigenous seeds.

Dodda jola, the communities say, gives a unique taste to Indian delicacies, and is liked by all.

In yet another Indian village known as Alappanadoddi, ambukai (an indigenous creeper variety of groundnut) is being conserved and multiplied on a large scale.

Ambukai, locals believe, protects crops from attacks by wild bores and crows when inter-planted with other crops and can cover large areas of land as compared to the newer groundnut varieties.

The communities had for a long time been duped that imported hybrid species yielded high produce. They had gradually turned from growing local varieties in favor of foreign species.

Since the GF initiative rolled out to the villages, Indians have come to terms with the challenges of over-relying on the foreign seeds, which they now claim are less resistant to the vagaries of weather and pose more threat to the environment.

The foreign breeds are believed to require high amounts of fertilizer and other synthetic chemicals to achieve the required results. The continued use of these products have affected soil fertility and posed a threat to the environment.

The foreign varieties are also said to perform very poorly, especially during the monsoon winds, sparking fears over the villages’ food security.

The local communities are now shifting from the foreign varieties to indigenous seeds that are known for their great tolerance to weather and environmental stress.

The local breeds also require minimum amounts of fertilizer and chemicals, and are more responsive to organic manure.

The formation of a Community Seed Bank (CSB) in Chinnikate has influenced a distinct attitudinal change in the mindset of the people.

“They now come together in activities of the village and take part in all the seed bank activities. They participate in the developmental work of the village. They join together to celebrate festivals and functions in the village,” GF’s Vanaja Ramprusus points out.

But while community involvement has set high standards in seed selection, germination experimentation, and purification to remove mixes in successive harvests so as to develop pure breeds, women are the key figures in realizing the aims of the GF-funded program.

Gangamma, a housewife and president of the Chinnikate project, is herself a Panchayat (local governmental body) member. And like Gangamma, Hombalama, another woman leading the seed conservation efforts in Alappanadoddi village, has been a beacon of hope to her people.

Puteeramma, another elderly woman from Chanmalla village in Dharampuri district, Tamil Nadu, has influenced great achievements among her villagers.

These women are at crossroads. They struggle to maintain their culture, biodiversity and identity.

Gangamma is a very ordinary person and was confined to her domestic work until GF made its appearance in the village.

A year and a half ago, and as part of the GF network project, a process of formation of a CSB was initiated in Chinnikatte. When GF came to the village, the people suggested an introductory meeting with Gangamma.

The villagers harbored great respect for her, not only because of her dedication to biodiversity conservation but also due to her exemplary show of commitment to the indigenous varieties.

Gangamma herself was an institution in seed conservation; she had a passion for it that encouraged the villagers to tap her vast experience so as to get detailed information on seed conservation.

Initially, the meeting comprised Gangamma and 15 farmers (5 men and 10 women). The villagers were skeptical whether they would succeed in reviving local varieties and land races.

They feared that tracing the indigenous varieties and land races would be difficult. But with support from GF they came to realize how possible it was to identify, trace, and revive local varieties.

Gangamma led the process of tracing the varieties. She maintained a substantial number of local plant species in her little farm. Her vast knowledge was harnessed to make a positive break in the process.

The villagers needed the native varieties for the cultural, social, nutritional, and economic values attached to them. The local grains are widely used in artwork for the making of ornaments and beads, for example.

They are also used for the preparation of brews for special occasions or to perform certain rituals. Others still value the local seeds for their spiritual relevance, especially in offering feed for doves - a bird highly cherished by the Indians.

Now the villagers enjoy easy access to planting seeds and at no cost. The CSB in Chinnikatte stocks numerous varieties including minor millet, bajra, sorghum, field bean, red gram, and castor seeds.

GF supported the CSB with a small grant for the purchase of seed storage devices and other seed treatment materials. Later, bilimaggin save (minor millet), karimaggian save (minor millet), two varieties of ragi (finger millet), red gram (pulse), chali (winter) red gram, and male (rain) red gram were added to the stock of seeds.

To address the nutritional needs of the village communities, GF facilitated the establishment of backyard bio-intensive kitchen gardens. In biointensive kitchen gardens, fruits, vegetables, medicinal and flowering plants are grown. Gangamma played a key role in promoting this among the women.

The communities felt concerned about the survival of their gardens during the summer season. Gangamma became handy in creating awareness among the village folk on how to use domestic wastewater for the irrigation and upkeep of their kitchen gardens.

The men of Chinnikate were also an integral part of the seed bank activities. They assumed several responsibilities including distribution of seeds, formation of kitchen gardens, digging vermicompost pits (pits dug for the preparation of compost manure for the garden) and seed collection.

“Their contribution is invaluable. The seed bank has grown due to the involvement of both genders. After the formation of CSB in Chinnikatte, borrowing of seeds from moneylenders has been scaled down. Dependency on moneylenders for seeds is gradually decreasing,” says Vanaja.

Vanaja is glad that farmers are becoming self-sufficient in fodder production from growing local varieties. She says during the last drought season, farmers were able to produce considerable amounts of grain and fodder.

“The farmers are becoming convinced of the values of growing the local varieties of crops. They have also reduced the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides,” Vanaja offered.

“They are using more vermicomposting now instead of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The seed bank has brought back several varieties, which were abandoned years ago due to modern agriculture,” she adds.

At a time when indigenous seed diversity is fast diminishing, Puteeramma, a 70-year-old woman who resides in Chanmalla village, Dharampuri district of rural Tamil Nadu, has set an example for conservation of seeds.

While the entire village has been enticed to grow imported hybrid seeds, which are touted as high response varieties, Puteeramma can be seen growing 3 indigenous varieties of finger millet (ragi), of paddy (Kari Munduga and bilimunduga) and 4 varieties of sorghum, as major crops.

In addition, castor, little millet (same), kodo millet (navane), huchellu (niger), thogari (green gram), field beans, horse gram, yellu (sesamum), cow pea, local safflower (a thorny variety unique to the region) and sajje (bajra) are cultivated on her 10 acre dryland farm, with the assistance of her husband, Sri Gowda.

Puteeramma was honored by GF as ‘Beeja Matha Puteeramma’ (Seed Mother Puteeramma, this award is given to women-seed-savers who conserve large numbers of traditional varieties of food crops, medicinal plants, vegetables and fruits etc.) in May 1999 during the annual seed fair. In a seed fair, communities gather in one village. They exhibit rare varieties of seeds. Seed fairs facilitate the conservation and multiplication of traditional varieties of seeds. Seeds are exchanged between the farmers. Puteeramma is promoting the legacy of her late mother-in-law who was known for indigenous seed conservation.

“I continued to conserve indigenous seeds for purposes of food consumption and multiplication due to respect for my mother-in-law. She is no more alive. If I fail to continue this practice her soul will not rest in peace,” she is reported as saying in GF’s bulletins.

She does not believe in selling seeds. She says, “The seed is our mother which should be revered and not be sold as a marketable commodity.”

Puteeramma uses traditional mud storage devices for storing grains and seeds. These include the vaade, which is an artistically sculptured mud pot having a capacity to store 100 kg of food grains. These pots are of different sizes and vary in height from 2 to 6 feet.

The landscape of Alappanadoddi village represents an undulating, dryland region located on the Karnataka –Tamil Nadu borders.

Hombalamma, a 50-year-old woman farmer comes from this remote place. She would have been an unknown had GF not discovered her.

Hombalammma, though illiterate, has built up the capacity to attend seminars and workshops where she speaks about seed conservation.

She creates awareness about indigenous varieties, and the negative impacts of using chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

“When GF discovered her, she was on the verge of converting her land to hybrid cultivation, but with inputs from the foundation she drifted back to indigenous varieties. Observing her interest in indigenous varieties, GF has boosted her knowledge in seed conservation,” Vanaja says.

On her farmland, Hombalamma conserves major crops including traditional finger millet varieties such as the Mandya orissa and pichakaddi ragi, dryland paddy, groundnut varieties and a wide range of vegetables such as tomatoes and beans.

Hombalamma has made effective use of her five-acre plot. In this undulating land, different crops are grown at different levels depending on the availability of water and on soil conditions.

Millet varieties are grown on eroded patches of land, while finger millet is grown in the plains. Hombalamma practices mixed cropping in her farm, which must endure extreme dry conditions. She must walk 2 km a day for water.

Her enthusiasm in cultivating vegetables and crops has not slugged an inch. She has initiated a seed bank in her village for better seed access to farmers from surrounding villages.

With enhanced knowledge in seed conservation, she has conserved about five varieties of finger millet and about 25 varieties of vegetables.

Hombalamma is a recipient of the ‘Shirsti Sanman’ Award (an award given by the Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions, a non-governmental organization, to grassroot inventors, innovators and ecopreneurs - people engaged in conserving biodiversity and developing eco-friendly solutions to local problems); in recognition of her enthusiasm for conservation and her innovative ideas in agriculture.

“She has undoubtedly been a key figure in our diversity promotional efforts for the past five years. By virtue of her contributions, women’s groups have honored her as ‘Beeja Mathe’ (seed mother) during the annual seed fair,” Vanaja says.

The GF funded project in India signals an important milestone in biodiversity conservation. The project has not only empowered local communities to produce food in abundance during the dry and humid conditions but has also guaranteed food security for the present populations and for posterity. It has also enhanced the promotion of seed conservation technologies (both traditional and modern) among the community members for present and future generations.

According to the author all italicisized names in the article are indigenous Indian names not scientific terminology. The names are popular among the local communities.

** Zablon Odhiambo in a freelance journalist based in Nairobi-Kenya covering the scientific areas of health, environment, Agriculture, biotechnology and human rights. You can reach him at zedqbee@yahoo.com.

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