India’s seeds of traditional varieties

4.At a time when extreme weather events threaten food production, India is sidelining traditional seed varieties — the very crops that can withstand droughts, floods, and replenish depleted soils.

• About India’s Seeds of Traditional Varieties: Indigenous Varieties includes Hurlu villagers cultivate native crops like kuyan (pearl millet), dokin (sorghum), kode kanga (cowpea), arka (foxtail millet), and dangrani (pulse); paddy varieties include kanda kuli, dhangri mali, basna kuli, and bodhana.

o Loss of Diversity: Traditional seeds are disappearing while farmers grow limited crops like wheat, rice, and a few vegetables.

o Hybrid Trade-Offs: New hybrid seeds bring high yields but increase dependence on chemical fertilisers, water usage, vulnerability to climate shocks, and reduce food quality.

o Market Demand Issue: Consumers, supermarkets, and government programmes prefer high-yield rice and wheat, leading to reduced demand for climate-resilient grains like millets, pulses, and indigenous rice.

o Policy Bias: Agricultural policies historically promoted high-yielding varieties to boost food production, leading to loss of biodiversity and nutritional quality.

o Government Initiatives: While efforts like the Odisha Millet Mission exist, subsidies and procurement systems remain slow to support traditional crops.

o Research Priorities: R&D has prioritised productivity over conserving genetic diversity and enhancing climate resilience.

o Recent Consultation: MSSRF’s Tribal Agrobiodiversity Centre, Jeypore, Odisha, held a national consultation to foster a road map for climate-resilient seed systems.