Scientists and NGOs find common ground in ensuring that farmers possess the divers they can use and conserve
Seeds for Iife
INDIA'S fields and seed stores are the cradles of tremendous biological wealth in
the form of diverse crop varieties. These
varieties or 'landraces' have been shaped
by farmers over generations to fit the
requirements of often harsh environments, the opportunities of diverse production 'niches' and people's preferences
for different products and qualities. But
recent years have seen the erosion of this
homespun diversity as 'improved' varieties, developed by research institutions,
have spread in the rural areas. These varieties are much fewer in number, since
plant breeders generally aim for 'broad
adaptation', a j ack- of- all- trades strategy
that fits well with centralised seed production and regulation. Improved varieties now dominate most of India's irrigated and less risky agricultural areas,
though they are less popular where farmers still plant with the rain.
Despite their very different
backgrounds and affiliations,
participants agreed that conservation must involve more than
merely preserving particular ]andraces. At least as important, and
as threatened, are the skills that have
guided the evolution of that diversity.
Farmers identify, test, judge, maintain,
multiply and spread promising types, but
these functions are being increasingly
usurped by the formal sector.
. Scientists and NGOs are exploring several practical approaches which build on
farmers' ability to choose varieties which
meet their needs and which ensure the
availability of choice; Participatory
breeding and selection programmes are
devolving to farmers the decision of what
to retain or discard from among either
genetically stable varieties brought
together in one field, or the wildly varying
offsprings from the cross of two varietal
parents. In environments as far apart as
the hills of Nepal and the highlands of
eastern Africa, farmers have identified
sets of varieties that, together, outperform the one or a few that typically
emerge from conventional research.
Their choices meet multiple needs and
preferences: grain yield, of course, but
also straw production, taste, etc.
Drawing farmers into the selection of
new varieties should be particularly
rewarding in the most difficult farming
environments, where natural hazards
occur in complex and often unpre
dictable patterns. A case in question is the
vast flood-prone areas of eastern in'l
As J L Dwivedi (Crop Research Statio
Ghaghraghat, Uttar Pradesh) explain a
floods occur at different times from year
to year, and to different depths, eld
within the same farm. Local rice cro
rely on different survival strategies, so
emerging quickly from the seed, others
tolerating submergence for a few d
and still others able to grow to an :d
quate height quickly to get above a mic
season flood. How high the rice gro%,,
and how long it takes to mature are ot'd
parameters that adapt it to a particula.
location. Breeders have had little luckle'
picking combinations that thrive and th.:
farmers want to use. Instead, Dwiv1d
intends to give farmers diverse, earlv gel-.
eration populations from crosses of 10
varieties to grow in their own fill
Farmers will select what they judge use
ful, and what survives the flood. Novel
and potentially fruitful approaches Iike
this demand a new 'division of labour'
between farmers and scientists.
NGO participants described
range of communit -based ini
tiatives which are making avail
able to farmers seeds of locally
developed, but now rare, vari
eties. Methods vary. For example
the women of the 'Nayakrit
Andolon' in Bangladesh a
developing community se
wealth centres' where farmer
can obtain and,
They prefer this to the id a of
centralised 'bank'. Most grou
work to support farmers' testi
and evaluation of unfamilit
varieties. The Academy
Development Sciences (ADS) A
collected more than 300 rice
strains from the Konkan region
of Maharashtra and provides
them for trial to interested farm
ers. The Beej Bachao Andolan
(BBA - "Save the Seeds") is
working with rice, beans and
neglected crops like amaranth in the hills of Tehri Garhwal. Seed multiplication is vital if large numbers of farmers
are to be reached, and several of the
groups see this as a means to make the
initiatives self-supporting. For example,
the Deccan Development Society is working with sangams of mostly lower-caste
women in Andhra Pradesh, who are rehabilitating patches of degraded land, then
managing them as small but productive seed farms.
These programmes are quite young and,
for most, it is too early to expect a rigorous evaluation of their reach or effectiveness. But many at the meeting, within
and outside the organisations involved,
were concerned about their isolation.
Networks to share both seed and experiences among them, on a national or
regional basis, could help: nothing like
this exists. But links in other directions
are also needed.
One way lies in simply preserving the
diversity that has been assembled. Take
the case of the BBA. In village conditions,
seeds of rice and other hill crops can be
stored for only a few seasons before they
degenerate. So the hundreds of varieties
that Tehri Garhwal farmers have contributed must be grown out regularly to
replenish the stock. This is costly,
demands land, and there is always the risk
that the seeds will be accidentally mixed.
Of course, only some of the varieties are
in active demand; others are being tested
and evaluated, while still others appear
not to find a place currently in farmers'
fields. That may change in future.
Long term storage would keep options
alive and provide security, but requires
refrigeration which only formal institutions like the National Bureau of Plant
Genetic Resources in Delhi can afford.
Space should be available in their gene
banks. But for this to become a reality, a
host of issues must be addressed. Among
the most important are procedures by
which community groups can retrieve
their material and agreements on who
else, and on what terms, can access the
seed and any information 'deposited'
along with it.
Community initiatives would also
benefit from support in enlarging the
choices open to farmers, beyond those
available in the 'pool' of local varieties.
One possibility is to enhance local landraces through breeding. For instance,
the Konkan rice varieties in ADS' collection and in farmers' fields are susceptible
to the yellow stemborer, an insect that
burrows into the plant and cuts the growing panicle. Synthetic pesticides are rarely
effective against it and are out of reach for
most farmers, besides being hazardous.
Genetic enhancement could provide a
saner option. Konkan rices could be
crossed with Indian or Asian varieties
that have at least a partial resistance to the
stemborer, taking care to preserve the
characteristics that, in other respects,
adapt the landraces so admirably to the
region. The idea is 'easily stated, but access
to those resistant varieties and to certain
breeding skills is the hang-up. A labyrinth
of institutional obstacles currently prevents farmers and scientists from working out how to make intelligent use of
genetic diversity to meet pressing needs.
Expanding the choices available to
farmers need not require breeding. NGOS
or research organisations can help bring
to farmers' attention both rare local landraces and those originating in other
regions where similar climate, soil, pest
and other conditiom prevail. The popularity in several states of farmer-selected
rice varieties like Mahsuri and Indrasan
shows clearly what can be gained by'moving diversity around'. However, without a
concerted effort, useful diversity may
remain hidden because diffusion -
among farmers and through seed companies - is often slow and uneven. Again,
assuring farmers access to wider diversity
demands a level of collaboration that
does not yet exist between community
initiatives and formal sector institutions.
The meeting found a heartening degree
of agreement among researchers and NGO
workers on the need for farmers' active
involvement in genetic conservation and
varietal improvement, and a recognition
that the two activities are closely related.
Several participants remarked that farmers seldom make an absolute distinction
between old/local and new/improved
varieties. The crucial element in both
dynamic conservation and participatory
breeding and selection is allowing farmers to choose from varieties 'on a level
field'. That has seldom been the case till
now. There is a clear need for grassroots
initiatives to work out collaborative relationships with formal sector institutions
in both conservation and enhancement
areas, but little headway can be expected
if policy and procedures in those institutions are not more welcoming. There was
a good deal of discussion at the meeting
about establishing trials of such linkages,
which all concerned can observe and
evaluate.
Till now, national and international
gene banks have taken in landrace
'deposits', but 'withdrawals' by the corn -
munities that bred them have been much
less frequent. Indeed, the banks weren't
set up to operate that way. The emergence of community-based conservation
initiatives requires new thinking in this
area and a broader role for the banks in
supporting farmers' 'seed security'.
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