Preserving Seed Diversity

We have preserved various items such as moong, beans, and gourds from ancient times.

— S Guruteli · Sindhiguda, Malkangiri, Odisha

We save stable seeds and kuluth seeds are valuable for our family. We have old seeds like millet, kuluth, moong. We sell them and use them as food.

— Basanti · Dashapalla, Nayagarh, Odisha

The oldest seeds we have are horse gram, black gram, green gram. Name - Padu Madhi Village - Kodeguda Panchayat - Potrel Block - Korukonda

— Champa Gatan · Pujariguda, Malkangiri, Odisha

Our ancestors have been cultivating Kodo, Barnyard, Foxtail, Finger millet, Horse gram, and Barley since ancient times, which are very nutritious. We always preserve their seeds and cultivate them every year.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

What are the oldest seeds you have? Finger millet, Pearl millet, Barnyard millet, Sesame, Horse gram.

— Niranjan Lauria · Boudh, Odisha

What are the oldest seeds you have? Mustard, horse gram, millet.

— Niranjan Lauria · Boudh, Odisha

What are the oldest seeds you have? Millet, rice, wheat, sesame, etc.

— Niranjan Lauria · Boudh, Odisha

The things we used to cultivate before were black gram, green gram, cowpea, horse gram, etc.

— Batakrushna Sahoo

I cultivate pulse crops without irrigation. We save pulse seeds, among which horse gram, black gram, and pigeon pea are the oldest varieties. We save these seeds for cultivation every year. Our ancestors used to cultivate using manure and traditional ploughs.

— DASHARATH SINGH

We cultivate seeds such as chickpea, lentil, mustard, and horse gram using traditional, possibly rain-fed, farming methods. We preserve these seeds and cultivate them using this traditional agricultural practice.

— Laxmi Sahu

Chickpeas and gumbra are our old seeds, which we preserve and then sow.

— Vinita Singh Yadav · Mukasim, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We still have traditional seeds like Kodo, Kutki, Maize, Sorghum, Kulthi, Arhar, etc., which we sow using old methods even without irrigation facilities. Even then, our crops ripen.

— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

Yes, I collect my own seeds. Mung and Black Gram are the most valuable seeds for our family. I have horse gram, black gram, bajra (pearl millet) and Mugeisal rice as old seeds. For us...

— gadadhar dash

We have traditional moong and urad dal. We cultivate them generation after generation. I will tell you what we have preserved.

— Gitanjali Bhoi · Karamdihi, Sundargarh, Odisha

Here, we cultivate Sawa, Medon, Mujhri, Kodo, and pulses using the 'Batririri' method. We also store the seeds at home for the following year and then re-sow them in the field; this practice is a legacy from our ancestors.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Old seeds: Bhadi Kodo millet and Samal.

— Kachala Choudhary

We save our traditional seeds that we have inherited.

— Vijay kanesh · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh

The oldest seeds we have are Hyacinth beans, paddy, moong beans, urad beans, and horse gram. We dry the seeds in the sun and store them by tying them in bundles.

— Anirudha Marai · Sambalpur, Odisha

Our ancestors were cultivating. They grew urad and moong. The soil gave them a different kind of produce, and they nurtured the seeds for it.

— Mukunda Majhi · Udulibeda, Malkangiri, Odisha

We used to cultivate various crops extensively. Additionally, I cultivated mustard, moong bean, guava, horse gram, etc. All these seeds are important for my family.

— RINA BEHERA · Sundargarh, Odisha

Our ancestors used to cultivate Bhadi kodra, jowar, pulses, and oilseed crops.

— Kachala Choudhary

I have old paddy seeds.

— Kachala Choudhary

Precious seeds: Pearl millet, Black gram, Sorghum, Bhaadi Kodo millet, Barnyard millet, Bati.

— Kachala Choudhary

The traditional seeds are pearl millet, smooth sorghum, and Bhadi kodo millet.

— Kachala Choudhary

In ancient times, we used to cultivate with ploughs. We used to cultivate black gram, horse gram, green gram, paddy, etc.

— RINA BEHERA · Sundargarh, Odisha

Yes, we save old seeds.

— Kachala Choudhary

These seeds are inherited, given by our ancestors.

— Kachala Choudhary

Yes, we grow other crops and also preserve seeds like black gram, pigeon pea, and green gram.

— Jagannath Baraik · Ranchi, Jharkhand

These native seeds were inherited by us from our ancestors.

— Sunil oraon · Verno, Gumla, Jharkhand

Our royal forefathers used to cultivate Birahi, Kulut, Mukh, Deshoris, and Badam in their lands. And all these seeds are very important for us.

— RINA BEHERA · Sundargarh, Odisha

Yes, tell me. Here, even today, we still have old seeds that can be safely preserved. Things like Sawa, Medo, Nijhari, Kodo, and Kurthi, which are still only available here...

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We cultivate a second crop. The valuable seed of our family is Horse gram. Our ancestors have given us Green gram, Black gram, Horse gram, and Finger millet. We follow the farming methods of our ancestors.

— Basanti · Nayagarh, Odisha

We do farming. We save some seeds beforehand and then cultivate. This way, we get many crops, including green gram, black gram, and pigeon pea.

— Ulapi Sahu · Balangir, Odisha