Around 20 traditional rice varieties of Tamil Nadu are traced, collected, redeemed and restored through at least 10 community seed banks, benefiting more than 500 farmers in the state. Most of the small and medium farmers of Tamil Nadu have lost their seeds, once traditionally owned by their community ancestors, to hybrid monocultures. These varieties have been identified for their unique nutritional, medicinal and ecological properties and above all for their climate resistance. Genetic erosion of the heritage and original gene pool of paddy varieties, loss of knowledge of therapeutic/healing properties of original existing varieties, lack of availability of their seed stocks, poses a challenge to the sustainability and future of agriculture and human health in Tamil. Nadu.
These community seed banks were promoted by location-based identification of willing farmers with the help of local NGOs in 24 districts — Ariyalur, Chengalpattu, Coimbatore, Dharmapuri, Dindugul, Erode, Kanchipuram, Karur, Madurai, Mayiladurai, Nagapattinam, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram, Ranipettai, Salem, Sivagangai, Tenkasi, Thanjavur, Thoothukudi, Thiruvannamalai, Thiruvarur, Tiruchirappalli, Villupuram & Viruthunagar.
The lead farmer grows one to many traditional varieties on his farm, part of which is shared and distributed after harvest to other interested farmers in neighboring localities and districts with or without payment. It is an informal structure with voluntary participation. Initial Bank Capital Rs. 2,000 was distributed to each beneficiary farmer to strengthen community rice seed banks. Supported by the Science and Heritage Research Initiative (SHRI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), SASTRA Deemed to be University is reviving, conserving and characterizing traditional rice varieties.
The operating principles of these banks include the memory banking of ethno-ecological knowledge, the promotion of medicinal knowledge and special agronomic qualities through related cultural beliefs, as well as their preservation. Regional festivals also help promote seed exchange. For example, the paddy seed exchange festival – ‘Nel Thiruvizha’ organized along with CREATE – a Tiruvarur-based NGO, helped distribute heirloom rice seed varieties like Karuppu kouni, Thuyya malli, Mapillai samba, Karunkuruvai and so on.
During the Paddy Seed Festivals, lead farmers can voluntarily distribute seeds of these traditional varieties for free to hundreds of farmers in the amount of 1-2 kg/farmer. In addition, interested farmers from across the state can visit crops of these varieties at the farm. They communicate the availability and quality of these varieties through apps and online media. Field gene banks have been established to promote heirloom varieties through seed exchange programs and organic seed propagation. Farmers are trained in conservation methods and methods of enrichment and revitalization of native heritage germplasms, as well as in in situ on-farm climate adaptability pilot trials.
The initiative to collect and preserve traditional regional rice varieties can help share and exchange knowledge about varieties with inherent capabilities to withstand climatic uncertainties, drought and flood resistance, medicinal and nutritional properties. Once knowledge of these local indigenous rice varieties spreads beyond the small localities to which they are restricted, farmers can participate in preventing knowledge erosion. This initiative can bring a sustainable yield for all rice-based farmers in the face of climate change uncertainty. “Seeds of Past” preserved as a reserve of “Seeds for future” can be propagated for upscaling in the coming years.
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