WhatsApp Channel Join Now
Telegram Group Join Now
| Relevance: General Studies Paper III — Agriculture, Food Security, and Conservation of Biodiversity | Source: Scientific Reports & Centre for Science and Environment, 2024–25 |
Harvest of Heritage: Climate Resilient Traditional Seeds
| In the tribal hills of Koraput (Odisha) and the dry plains of Dharwad (Karnataka), a quiet revival is under way. Farmers are bringing back old native seeds — called landraces — that their families saved for generations.
As climate change brings sudden floods and droughts, these tough seeds, which need very little water and almost no chemicals, are returning as a cheap and natural shield for India’s food and nutrition security. State schemes, gene banks, and women’s groups are now backing this movement. |
1 · What are these seeds, and why are they disappearing?
| Landrace (heirloom seed): A traditional, local variety of a crop that farming families have grown, saved, and passed down for many generations. Unlike modern lab-made hybrids, it has slowly adapted to its own soil and weather — so it survives hard conditions naturally. |
- Built for tough weather: Some are flood-proof, like Machhakanta rice; others fight drought, like Haldichudi and Tikichudi. Kalajeera, the fragrant “Prince of Rice” of Odisha, even helps control blood sugar and now carries a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
- A sharp loss: In the 1950s, the Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) found 1,745 traditional rice varieties in Koraput alone. After the Green Revolution pushed uniform hybrid seeds, most of them simply vanished.
- Counting what survives: A 2024 study in Scientific Reports recorded 671 landraces across 60 crops in Karnataka. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) mapped 887 hardy varieties of 71 crops still alive in seed banks across 15 states.
2 · Four numbers that tell the whole story
|
Money on the table
₹247 crore
Odisha’s Forgotten Food Mission budget (2025–26 to 2029–30) to revive neglected crops across 15 districts.
|
Seeds in safe-keeping
92,000+
Traditional landraces stored at the NBPGR national gene bank, New Delhi — out of its 4.52 lakh total crop samples.
|
|
Global recognition
3 of 104
India’s FAO heritage farming (GIAHS) sites — Koraput, Kuttanad, Pampore Saffron — among 104 worldwide.
|
Reward for the farmer
₹4,100/qtl
Top premium price for heritage rice — set above the normal MSP so saving old seeds becomes profitable.
|
| How to read this: the four numbers show the full conservation chain — government money (₹247 cr) flows in, seeds are kept safe (92,000+ in the gene bank), the effort earns world recognition (3 GIAHS sites), and finally the farmer is paid more (₹4,100/quintal). Together they explain why a dying tradition is suddenly worth reviving. |
3 · How the revival is being driven
A. State support that pays the farmer
- Amruta Anna Yojana (Odisha): Links heritage rice to faith. Organic kalajeera and Gobind bhog are grown for the sacred kotha bhoga offerings at the Jagannath Temple, Puri — giving farmers a steady, assured buyer.
- Pay above MSP: Traders must buy heritage varieties at a price higher than the Minimum Support Price (MSP), so that saving old seeds becomes profitable, not a sacrifice.
B. Communities leading from the ground
- Community seed banks: Groups like the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation and Sahaja Samrudha help villagers store and share native seeds locally, using traditional methods.
- A global honour: The women-led Bibifathima Swa Sahaya Sangha of Dharwad won the UNDP Equator Prize for bringing over 5,000 farmers together to grow climate-hardy millets using solar-powered machines.
- Old-knowledge inputs: Farmers use natural mixtures — jeevamrut, neemastra, and brahmastra (made from cow urine, neem, and organic matter) — to keep soil healthy without chemical fertiliser.
C. Why it matters for today’s India
- New foods, new buyers: Coarse millets are now turned into laddus, cookies, and snacks, becoming popular with health-conscious young consumers.
- Jobs for rural youth: Growing GI-tagged crops like kalajeera opens high-value niche markets, freeing young farmers from the heavy cost of hybrid seeds and chemicals.
- Nutritional security: These iron-rich, protein-dense, low-sugar grains fight both malnutrition and lifestyle diseases like diabetes at the same time.
4 · Way forward
| Bring them into the mainstream. The Ministry of Agriculture and State Biodiversity Boards should map and document landraces (genetic characterisation), so they enter formal farm policy instead of staying in scattered tribal pockets. |
| Protect the farmer’s ownership. Use the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act, 2001 to ensure tribal communities keep legal rights over their seeds when big food companies try to scale them up commercially. |
| Build local processing and markets. Copy Odisha’s premium-pricing model and add decentralised cleaning, milling, and packaging units nearby, so young farmers find it truly worth the effort. |
| Scale seed banks and GI tags. Expand community seed banks and win more GI tags (like kalajeera) to lock in a crop’s identity, fair price, and steady demand in the market. |
| India’s traditional seeds are like a living insurance policy against a warming, unpredictable climate. Once dismissed as backward, they are now proving to be cheaper, healthier, and tougher than many hybrids.
The real task is to move them from a few tribal fields into the heart of national farm policy — pairing fair prices with strong farmers’ rights — so that protecting India’s agrobiodiversity also protects the very communities who have guarded it for centuries. |
| UPSC Value Box | ||||||||||||||
|
| Mains Practice Question |
| Reviving India’s traditional landraces offers a low-cost and climate-resilient path to food and nutritional security. Examine the institutional and grassroots efforts driving this revival, and the challenges in taking it mainstream. (15 marks · 250 words) |
Structure hint:
Introduction — Note the collapse from 1,745 Koraput rice varieties to scattered survivors, against a worsening climate.
Body Part 1 — Ecological value — low water, no chemicals, flood/drought resistance, nutrition.
Body Part 2 — State support — Amruta Anna Yojana, Forgotten Food Mission, above-MSP premium pricing.
Body Part 3 — Grassroots — community seed banks, Equator Prize, gene bank, GIAHS recognition.
Way Forward — Genetic mapping, PPV&FR Act protection, processing infrastructure, GI tags.
Introduction — Note the collapse from 1,745 Koraput rice varieties to scattered survivors, against a worsening climate.
Body Part 1 — Ecological value — low water, no chemicals, flood/drought resistance, nutrition.
Body Part 2 — State support — Amruta Anna Yojana, Forgotten Food Mission, above-MSP premium pricing.
Body Part 3 — Grassroots — community seed banks, Equator Prize, gene bank, GIAHS recognition.
Way Forward — Genetic mapping, PPV&FR Act protection, processing infrastructure, GI tags.
Must mention:
Landraces / agrobiodiversity ·
Amruta Anna Yojana ·
NBPGR & GIAHS ·
Equator Prize ·
PPV&FR Act, 2001
Landraces / agrobiodiversity ·
Amruta Anna Yojana ·
NBPGR & GIAHS ·
Equator Prize ·
PPV&FR Act, 2001
Conclusion hint: Argue that protecting heritage seeds is inseparable from protecting the tribal communities who conserve them — making fair pricing and farmers’ rights the core policy levers.
Start Yours at Ajmal IAS – with Mentorship StrategyDisciplineClarityResults that Drives Success
Your dream deserves this moment — begin it here.