SOS: Save Our Seeds!

A small village in Tehri-Garhwal pioneers a unique movement to conserve and promote indigenous seeds and agricultural practices.

Jardhargaon, a village in the Tehri-Garhwal district of Uttaranchal, is home to a people?s movement to revive traditional agricultural practices and conserve indigenous seeds. The movement, known as the Beej Bachao Andolan (BBA), has its roots in the Chipko movement.
A farmer and social activist from Jardhargaon, Vijay Jardhari, realised that modern agriculture was destroying traditional farming. Crop yields of the ?high-yielding varieties? in modern agriculture were actually low; soil fertility was declining, leading to an increasing dependence on toxic chemicals. Along with other activists of the Chipko movement, Jardhari formed the BBA to promote traditional agriculture and crop varieties.

The first step was to discontinue the cultivation of chemical-dependent seeds. Jardhari and his colleagues started visiting villages in the region to learn more about traditional varieties of seeds. In the valley of Ramasirain, Uttarkashi district, farmers were growing a distinctive variety of red rice called chardhan. The rice was nutritious and suited to local requirements and conditions. Farmers also grew indigenous varieties like thapchini, jhumkiya, rikhwa and lal basmati. Agriculture here was untouched by modern practices and good yields were obtained without the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

To a casual onlooker the method of cultivation seemed like a maddening range of crops grown on a small piece of land. But what the farmers here were doing was avoiding monocultures. The method is called baranaja (12 grains), where a number of cereals and legumes were intercropped. The diversif! ication is security against drought and crop failure. Different crops are harvested at different times of the year and ensure year-round supply of food. This also maintains soil fertility and replenishes nitrogen.

To protect traditional varieties of seeds the BBA organises food marches as well as get-togethers and meetings to create awareness about the importance of protecting traditional seeds. Jardhari tries out different varieties and combinations of seeds, and takes back to the farmers the varieties that are particularly useful. BBA also actively promotes the use of traditional farming methods such as baranaja.

Today BBA has about 150 varieties of paddy from which 100 different varieties can still be grown. Of these, tapachini and jhamcha yield about 72 quintals per hectare. BBA has also collected 170 varieties of rajma. Effective pest control is accomplished by using the leaves of the waln! ut and neem, and the application of ash and cow?s urine. The use of traditional farming methods and seeds has resulted in higher yields. Health has improved as people have a balanced diet. Livestock health has improved too, because more fodder is available. At the same time soil fertility and agro-biodiversity have been conserved.

Contact:
Vijay Jardhari
Beej Bachao Andolan
PO Nagni, Tehri Garhwal
Uttaranchal, India

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