Seed keepers of the Himalayas: How mountain women protect India’s food heritage

The Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), stretching from Ladakh in the northwest to Arunachal Pradesh in the far east, is a landscape where agriculture is more than a livelihood. It is a way of life intertwined with ecology, culture and survival. In this mountainous terrain, where communities face climate uncertainties, fragile slopes, small terraced farms and limited market access, women play a crucial yet often overlooked role in sustaining traditional farming systems. They are the seed keepers, biodiversity custodians and holders of traditional ecological knowledge. From Uttarakhand’s Garhwal and Kumaon to Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur and Chamba, and from Sikkim’s Lepcha heartland to Arunachal Pradesh’s Apatani plateau, women conserve seeds and along with it, entire cultural landscapes.

Traditional Himalayan agriculture follows principles very different from industrial farming. It values diversity rather than monoculture, resilience rather than maximum yield and seed sovereignty rather than dependence on corporate seed systems.

Women sit at the centre of this agro-ecological framework. Their work begins long before planting and continues well after harvest. They preserve and select seeds, manage soils, conserve water, cultivate mixed-cropping systems and secure household nutrition. Scientific research increasingly affirms these contributions. A 2023 study by Ramirez-Santos et al. shows that women globally—and particularly in mountain regions—are the primary conservers of agro-ecological knowledge.

Across the IHR, women safeguard hundreds of indigenous seed varieties, each adapted to specific microclimates, altitudes, soils and food traditions: red rice from Kangra, black rajma from Uttarkashi, buckwheat from Sikkim, millets such as mandua and jhangora in Uttarakhand, foxtail millet in Nagaland and hardy barley varieties in Ladakh. These seeds endure for generations, unlike hybrids that last only one season. They are drought-resistant, nutrient-rich, naturally pest-tolerant and climate-resilient—qualities essential for mountain agriculture in the climate crisis.

This knowledge passes through observation, participation and cultural inheritance. Elder women often say, “Beej hi jeevan ka beej hai” (seeds are the seeds of life). Seed selection involves judging colour, hardness, aroma, yield, taste, digestibility and cultural importance. The work carries emotional and ritual meaning. Women invoke local deities before sowing to ensure a good harvest. Seed exchanges at weddings and festivals reinforce social and ecological bonds. 

Storage relies on deep ecological insight: ash, turmeric, neem, cow dung and smoke serve as natural preservatives. Uttarakhand’s women use kholi and patnel grass baskets; in Himachal’s Kullu Valley, dry gourds and pine resin keep seeds viable; in Arunachal Pradesh, communities wrap millets in leaves and hang them near kitchen hearths; Ladakh stores seeds in insulated clay granaries. These sustainable, chemical-free practices remain largely invisible in mainstream agricultural policy.

Women also maintain Himalayan crop diversity through systems such as baranaja in Uttarakhand, an intercropping method where up to twelve crops — finger millet, amaranth, rajma, horse gram, cucumbers, flax and others — grow together. As watershed scientist PS Tiwari in 2000 noted, baranaja is a sophisticated risk-management strategy shaped and run by women. If one crop fails in unpredictable weather, others may survive, protecting food supplies. This diversity enriches soil, reduces erosion and stabilises fragile slopes.

A 2023 study in the journal Environmental Development shows that Himalayan women hold detailed knowledge of micro-ecologies. They predict crop performance by observing cloud movement, insect behaviour and soil texture. These skills are learned through generations, not manuals. Women also guide shifting cultivation (jhum) in Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, determining fallow cycles and forest regeneration. Yet state policies often blame jhum for deforestation, overlooking women’s ecological stewardship.

Women’s labour underpins Himalayan agriculture. With many men migrating to cities for work, women often become de facto farm heads. They plough fields, sow seeds, irrigate through traditional kulhs and guhls, apply manure, collect fodder and harvest crops. They maintain kitchen gardens rich in vegetables, herbs and medicinal plants such as tulsi, nettle, rhododendron and wild amaranth. Research by Gautam et al. in 2022 estimated that women contribute 70-90 per cent of agricultural labour across the IHR. Yet they remain “invisible farmers”, rarely owning land, with little access to credit, minimal representation in extension services and limited influence over decisions.

Gender-blind policies and technologies add to their difficulties. Most training programmes target men, assuming they are the primary farmers. Tools and equipment are seldom designed with women’s ergonomics in mind, increasing physical strain. Climate change intensifies these burdens: drying springs, degraded forests and invasive species such as Lantana camara and Parthenium hysterophorus force women to travel longer distances for water and fodder. Warmer temperatures bring new pests to previously unaffected crops.

Despite these challenges, women lead climate adaptation through mulching, mixed cropping, soil conservation and seed banking, yet receive little institutional backing. Commercial seed companies further threaten traditional seed systems by promoting hybrids unsuited to mountain conditions. Hybrids demand external inputs, degrade soil and erode seed sovereignty, pushing farmers towards dependency and debt.

In response, women across the Himalayas have revived strong seed sovereignty movements. Uttarakhand’s Beej Bachao Andolan, launched in the 1980s, revived more than 120 indigenous varieties and restored millets as “grains of life.” Women-led Self-Help Groups in Pithoragarh and Almora now operate seed banks that lend native seeds seasonally. In Sikkim, women in Dzongu and West Sikkim manage community seed libraries. 

Ao and Angami women in Nagaland sustain millet festivals to preserve seed heritage. In Ladakh, women’s cooperatives linked with LEHO and the Women’s Alliance of Ladakh conserve traditional barley and pea varieties. These initiatives show that women protect more than seeds. They protect identity, resilience and ecological sovereignty.

But these efforts need structural support to grow. Many schemes — including the National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture, the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana — do not reach remote mountain women because of bureaucratic gaps and the absence of gender-sensitive design. Recognising women as farmers is essential to securing land rights, credit, insurance and access to climate finance. 

Hill-region Farmer Producer Organisations must include women in leadership roles. Seed banks need support through biodiversity conservation programmes, and agricultural planning must integrate traditional seed systems. Documentation is urgent: the knowledge of older women is at risk of being lost. Partnerships between universities, Indian Council of Agricultural Research institutes and women farmers can help create community biodiversity registers and Himalayan seed atlases.

If India seeks climate resilience and long-term food security, supporting women seed conservers is essential. They safeguard genetic diversity that can withstand climate extremes, protect agro-biodiversity that corporations cannot replicate and practice sustainability more effectively than many current policy models. The future of Himalayan agriculture depends on recognising, empowering and learning from these women, the true seed keepers of the mountains.

Nilakshi Moran is Assistant Professor, Satyawati College (Evening), University of Delhi. Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth