Saving Seeds: Rejuvenating Agricultural Biodiversity

Until a few decades ago Indian farmers had been the custodians of diverse croplands, growing over 30,000 different varieties of rice. In recent years, however, many regions have been restricted to growing rice monocultures after biotechnology was forcefully popularised by the Green Revolution. As a result, most of the diverse indigenous varieties of rice are headed towards extinction. What is happening to India’s rice is also happening to many other crops, particularly the ‘poor man’s crops’ that might not hold importance for global markets but remain crucial to local subsistence economies. As farmers adopt the Green Revolution’s cash crops, such diverse species as dwarf wheat, black pepper, cucumber, and moth bean have been threatened. Though peasants recognise the resilience of native varieties, by the time they come to these realisations native plants are no longer being cultivated and become inaccessible.

Navdanya has pioneered a movement to save native seeds which, in turn, has helped to preserve the indigenous knowledge and culture of Indian agriculture. Placing the farmer at the centre of conservation relocates her/him in control of the political, economical, and ecological aspects of agriculture. The farmers who have aligned themselves with Navdanya are mostly small and marginal farmers who have maintained within themselves the ideal of cultivating diversity. For many, the choice to grow diverse native crops resulted from the unaffordable initial costs of adopting the intensive agricultural policies of the green revolution. For others, the choice has resulted from failures of Green Revolution technologies. For all of the seed keepers, the choice to maintain crop diversity has been a political statement—a statement of self-reliance and independent control over their lives.