Keeping traditional seed varieties

• Traditional seed varieties have been crucial for food security and cultural heritage in India for centuries.
• New hybrid varieties have increased reliance on chemical fertilisers, water-dependent farming, and increased vulnerability to climate shocks.
• Despite the benefits of traditional seeds, they are being sidelined due to the lack of demand and consumer preferences.
• Traditional seeds rely on community exchange and local conservation, but India lacks sufficient well-funded community seed banks.
• India’s agricultural policies have historically promoted high-yielding varieties, causing a trade-off in biodiversity and nutritional quality.
• Despite challenges, conservation efforts are ongoing, with organizations like MSSRF’s Tribal Agrobiodiversity Centre leading the way in conserving and reviving indigenous varieties and neglected crops.
• No single solution will save India’s seeds of traditional varieties and crops, but recognizing farmers’ knowledge and rights, strengthening community seed bank networks, initiating alternative seed systems, providing market incentives, and promoting policy changes are all necessary actions.
• A shift in research and development efforts should fund participatory plant breeding programs, well-funded seed banks, and support systems for processing and marketing.
• Governments should also create support systems for processing and marketing and provide financial incentives for traditional crop cultivation.
• Awareness campaigns and branding initiatives should highlight the health and environmental benefits of traditional crops.
• India stands at a turning point, with rising costs of farming inputs, climate change, depleting soil health, and unhealthy food consumption.
• Investing in seeds of traditional crops and varieties can create a sustainable food system that is not just productive but also resilient, nutritious, and aligned with its agricultural heritage.