WUNRN
"These women are formidable
storehouses of knowledge on indigenous seeds and biodiversity
conservation."
India - 'Seed-Mothers' Confront
Climate Insecurity
By Manipadma Jena
|
BHUBANESWAR,
India, Jul 1, 2011 (IPS) - In eastern Orissa state’s tribal hinterlands about
200 ‘seed-mothers’ are on mission mode - identifying, collecting and conserving
traditional seed varieties and motivating farming families to use them.
The
seed-mothers (bihana-maa in the local dialect) from the Koya and Kondh tribal
communities have reached 1,500 families in the Malkangiri and Kandhamal
districts and are still counting. These women are formidable storehouses of
knowledge on indigenous seeds and biodiversity conservation.
Collecting,
multiplying and distributing through exchange local varieties of paddy, millet,
legume, vegetables and leafy green seeds, the seed-mothers already have a solid
base of 80 converted villages.
As they
spread their message through the hinterland, targeting another 140 villages,
the women also promote zero dependence on chemical fertilisers and pesticides.
Considering
that Malkangiri is Orissa’s least developed district, with literacy at a low 50
percent and isolated by rivers, forests, undulating topography and poor
connectivity, the achievement of the seed-mothers is admirable.
The
struggles of Malkangiri farmers with climate change is visible in the
Gudumpadar village where seed-mothers are passionately reviving agricultural
heritage and convincing the community to stay with local seeds and
bio-fertilisers and pesticides.
"This
is the best way to cope with erratic rainfall, ensure the children are fed and
avoid the clutches of moneylenders," says 65-year-old seed-mother Kanamma
Madkami of Kanjeli village, who has multiplied 29 varieties of local millet and
paddy seeds.
Mangu Adari,
35, who owns less than two hectares of rain-fed land, some of it on a hill
slope, is one of the new converts to local seeds. Last monsoon he could
cultivate paddy, millet, beans and pulses on only half his land due to late and
heavy rains. This year he hopes to have a surplus to take to the market to sell
for badly needed cash.
"Local
plants are products of centuries of adaptation to local climate and soil
characteristics, hence, indigenous paddy holds out to drought for 30 days
compared to 15 days by high-yield hybrid varieties," explains Kusum Misra,
coordinator in Orissa for Navdanya, a network of seed-keepers spread over 16
Indian states and supported by 54 community seed banks.
Similarly
paddy grown traditionally in the lowland can survive two weeks of water logging
while highland paddy varieties yield quick harvests in just 60 days, compared
to the 125 days for hybrid paddy, Misra said.
Based in
rice-rich Balasore district, Misra has collected and propagated more than 65-
varieties of traditional paddy, including strains of aromatic rice, those with
resistance to salinity (for coastal farming), floods and droughts and some with
medicinal properties.
The
traditional varieties respond to natural fertilisers and pesticides; and if
seeds are preserved properly the farmer actually has access to no-cost farming.
"When they own the seeds farmers can time the sowing or even resort to a
second round of sowing if needed," says Kanamma.
"By keeping
procurement prices for traditional varieties low the government discourages
their farming; one reason being that rice millers prefer uniform sizes and
varieties of paddy. Also, government hybrid seed outlets have sales targets to
be met," says Misra.
Omprakash
Rautaraya, chairperson of the Organisation for Rural Reconstruction and
Integrated Social Service Activities, a non-profit responsible for reviving the
concept of seed-mothers, says that methodical "seed mapping of local
varieties and prioritising them on the basis of usage, cropping patterns and
water requirement has made multi-cropping possible".
With a mix
of six to 14 crops grown simultaneously, even during the frequent droughts,
upland farms now harvest at least two crops.
Seed-mothers
need little more than a backyard patch to propagate seeds and supplement family
nutrition. Kausalya Madakami of Malkangiri’s Manga village developed 57
varieties of food plants and exchanged them too.
Annual
community seed fairs, organised right after the monsoon harvest, help promote
and exchange traditional seeds and knowledge. Here the seed-mothers cook and
showcase various traditional items made from indigenous paddy and millet.
Tribal women
are re-learning the traditional ways of seed preservation from the
seed-mothers. Vegetable seeds are smeared with wood ash, bitter begonia or neem
leaf powder and stored in hollow bamboo poles while paddy and millet are safe
in jute bags hung from rafters. Pre-sowing treatment may involve cow-dung and
cow urine or the use of ivy gum as anti-fungal and pest repellant.
Poor seed
quality marketed by the government is a real worry. The government’s National
Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in a status report on seed
development released in March carried data showing falling rice production in
six eastern states, including Orissa - the rice bowl of the country.
In Orissa,
the seed germination rate for regular paddy is just 55 percent and may drop as
low as 25 percent. According to the NABARD report, land under cultivation in
the state is shrinking and poor quality seeds and increasing floods and
droughts are making farming increasingly un-remunerative.
Well-known
environmental activist and founder of Navdanya, Vandana Shiva, told IPS that
"climate resilient seeds in women's hands are vital to climate security
and corporations that have taken out some 1,600 patents on climate resilient
seeds are biopirates".
"Allowing
corporations to hijack and monopolise seed supply is a recipe for food
insecurity and climate insecurity," Shiva averred.