Preserve Your Seeds, Cultivate Diversity
We carefully save seeds from our diverse crops like chickpeas, lentils, and mustard, ensuring we can grow them again next year and maintain our livelihood.
By Sunita Kumari, Farmer · Ghorawal
Responds to — Seed dependency, loss of crop diversity, food insecurity
Here in Ghorawal, we know the importance of our seeds. We cultivate a variety of crops like lentils, chickpeas, mustard, and paddy, and after each harvest, we make sure to save the best seeds. As I say, "We save the chickpeas so that we can cultivate them next year," and "Lentil seeds are preserved after cultivation." This isn't just about planting; it's about securing our future harvests.
These are often open-pollinated seeds, which means we can rely on them to grow true year after year. We conserve our paddy seeds, and cultivate flaxseed and protect it. This practice allows us to be self-sufficient, reducing our reliance on external sources and keeping our traditional varieties alive. It's a way of life that sustains our families and our land.
Beyond crops, we also practice animal husbandry, even goat farming, to diversify our livelihoods. By combining varied cultivation with seed preservation and animal care, we build a resilient system. It's about knowing our land, understanding our plants, and ensuring food security for our community.
The recipe
Conserve and save open-pollinated seeds from diverse crops to ensure future harvests and food security.
Seed savingCrop diversityFood securityTraditional farmingSelf-reliance
