What is unique about Indian seed banks?
One of the primary aims of community seed banks found in India is to provide farmers with equitable access to seeds, which consequently safeguards food security. They are especially important for small scale farmers, as commercially available seeds can be difficult to procure due to exorbitant pricing.
Community seed banks, on the other hand, are locally run and do not operate for profit, making them a better alternative. They also offer access to a large variety of seeds and help farmers grow a variety of crops, thereby reducing the overall cost of farming and increasing self-sufficiency.
Community seed banks also preserve local varieties of crops through the years. The demand for certain kinds of crops is cyclical, and dependent on consumption patterns of the general population. A prime example of this would be the consumption patterns of rice, wheat and millets. The Green Revolution heralded a sharp decline in demand for millets, and a subsequent rise in the consumption of rice and wheat – due to the promotion of these grains among farmers and consumers. Millets were, therefore, relegated to the sidelines and cultivation drastically declined.
However, dedicated efforts have seen a revival of millets in the last few years, and farmers have turned to community seed banks to procure seeds and discuss best practices for cultivating these grains. Indigenous communities have also begun swapping seed varieties through these seed banks, discussing farming patterns and best practices while passing down traditional knowledge. This includes seed festivals. Similar networks, as found in Navdanya India, empower women for food diversity, and the Beej Bachao Andolan Seed Bank in the Himalayas, which revives heritage seeds. There are stories untold in every region of the world that proves how seeds are being circulated and saved for future generations.
By – Mrinalini Natarajan
Sources:
https://www.localfutures.org/programs/global-to-local/planet-local/beej-bachao-andolan/https://www.downtoearth.org.in/coverage/the-seed-supremo-22889https://www.navdanya.org/https://planet.outlookindia.com/news/community-seed-banks-in-india-help-reintroduce-millets-news-415059
