Present Crisis
Uniform cropping pattern: Increasing reliance on a few crops like wheat, rice, and select vegetables.
Disappearance of traditional seeds: Thousands of indigenous seed varieties are vanishing.
Contradiction: Climate-resilient traditional varieties are being sidelined amid rising extreme weather events.
Importance of Traditional Seeds
Historical role: Backbone of India’s food security and agricultural heritage.
Benefits:
Require fewer chemical fertilizers.
Less water-intensive.
More climate-resilient (withstand floods, droughts).
Improve soil health.
Retain nutritional value and food quality.
Core Problems Behind the Decline
a. Market Demand & Consumer Preference
Consumers and supermarkets prefer high-yield rice and wheat.
Millets, pulses, and indigenous rice varieties are ignored.
Lack of market demand → Farmers unwilling to grow them.
b. Seed System Structure
Hybrid seeds: Mass-produced and sold.
Traditional seeds: Depend on community exchange, not commercially viable.
India lacks well-funded community seed banks.
c. Policy Bias
Past policies focused on high-yielding varieties (HYVs) to boost food security.
Trade-off: Biodiversity and nutritional quality suffered.
Government subsidies and procurement still favor HYVs.
Agricultural R&D prioritizes productivity, not genetic diversity or climate resilience.
Conservation Efforts & Positive Developments
MSSRF’s Tribal Agrobiodiversity Centre (Jeypore, Odisha): Held national consultation on seed conservation.
Emerging roadmap to develop inclusive, climate-resilient seed systems.
Key Recommendations for Revival
a. Community-Based Actions
Recognise farmers’ traditional knowledge and rights.
Strengthen community seed banks.
Promote local seed exchange and support systems.
b. R&D Shift
Support Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB): Farmers + Scientists collaboration.
Develop improved traditional seed varieties tailored to local conditions.
c. Government Support
Establish regional conservation centres for seeds.
Provide market incentives for farmers:
Financial incentives.
Processing & marketing support.
Include traditional crops in:
MSP lists,
School meals, hospitals, and PDS (ration shops).
d. Consumer Awareness
Branding & campaigns to highlight:
Health benefits.
Environmental sustainability.
Consumer demand can drive production, creating a sustainable feedback loop.
Conclusion: A Call for National Action
Current challenges: High input costs, soil degradation, climate change, unhealthy diets.
Vision: A sustainable, productive, and resilient food system that honors India’s agricultural heritage.
Solution:
Invest in traditional seeds and crop varieties.
Promote coordinated national strategies with multi-stakeholder alliances.
End piecemeal approaches and restore ecological and nutritional balance.
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