By Ramachandran KG, Komalkumar–Community Wellbeing, Mahadesha B– Biodiversity Conservation
A two-day Desi Seed Festival was held on 14th and 15th June 2025 at the Institution of Agricultural Technologists campus, Queens Road, Bangalore. It was organized by the Institute of Agricultural Technologists (IAT) in collaboration with Sahaja Samrudha Organic Farmers’ Collective, Crops4HD, Keystone Foundation (Using Diversity), and other organizations.
Inauguration of the Event
The inauguration of this two-day ‘Desi Beejotsava’ (Indigenous Seed Festival) was done by Dr. Trilochan Mahapatra, Chairperson of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPV&FRA). In his opening remarks, Dr. Trilochan Mahapatra stated, “Communities should register the indigenous seed diversity they have preserved for generations to ensure it is protected and passed on to future generations,” during the inauguration of the seed festival. He also emphasized that in modern agriculture, traditional varieties are not given due importance. Hence, there is a need to raise awareness among farming communities about the value of conventional seeds.
The chief guest, Dr. Suresh S.V., Vice-Chancellor of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru, said that the seed is the soul of agriculture. Farming communities have preserved varietal diversity for hundreds of years. It must now be managed systematically. Presiding over the event, Dr. A.B. Patil, President of the Institute of Agricultural Technologists, pointed out that there is growing demand for organic farming, and thousands of farmers in the state are using indigenous seeds. Consequently, the demand for native seeds is increasing. He emphasized that the climate-resilient seeds must be expanded to more areas. Delivering the keynote, senior agricultural scientist Dr. N. Devakumar stated that the state government has decided to establish community seed banks, and that this is an excellent opportunity to revive traditional varieties. Other dignitaries present included Dr. Dinesh Kumar Agrawal, Registrar General of PPV&FRA; Dr. K. Anoop, Managing Director of the Karnataka State Seed Corporation; seed conservator Kamalamma; Shivnapura Ramesh, President of Sahaja Samrudha; and Kavita Gandhi, representative of SwissAid.Recognition felicitated to individuals and groups who contributed significantly to the conservation of indigenous varieties during the event, and they were Dr. N.G. Hanumaretty, Dr. Jayaprakash Nidagundi, Dr. Ullas M.Y., seed mother Papamma, and representatives of the Vinayaka Mahila Sangha.
Knowledge Sharing Through Sessions and Discussions
Farmers contribute about 35% of the country’s total seed production through informal methods, while the rest is produced through formal systems. However, in both systems, farmers are actively involved in seed production. In addition to farmers, companies, agricultural universities, and research centers are also stakeholders in the seed sector. Considering this, seed production without farmers is unimaginable. Yet, due to a lack of information among farmers about traditional varieties, these are not making it into the mainstream.
On the first day, many technical sessions were held on topics such as “Importance of Indigenous Seed Conservation”, “Challenges in Conserving Traditional Varieties”, and “Mainstreaming Farmer-Developed Varieties”. Parallelly, some panel discussions were also held as part of the event.
Technical sessions continued on Sunday (the second day) as part of the festival. A separate session was organized on the conservation of seed sovereignty of Adivasi communities in this Desi Seed Festival on the second day of the festival.
Mr. Sanjay Patil, of BAIF, Maharashtra, chaired this session, and he gave a brief explanation on the methods of preservation and conservation of indigenous and traditional seeds by the Adivasi communities in upland areas in Maharashtra. Mr. Ramachandran presented on how the Using Diversity project supports the process of knowledge building, documentation, and conservation of traditional seeds, methods of indigenous farming, and the significance of uncultivated food among Vulnerable Adivasi communities in the Western Ghats and beyond. He shared his experiences working with different tribal communities. Mr. Mahadesha, a sholiga by community, who is primarily engaging with SholigaIrula and Oorali communities in Chamarajanagar and Sathyamangalam areas, presented on the community practices in the conservation of indigenous seeds and self-reliance of the Adivasi communities he works with. Mrs.Parvathamma, belonging to the Yerava community living in the fringes of the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, HD Kote, Mysore district of Karnataka, shared her experiences working with Jenukuruba and Yerava communities for 25 years. She talked about how these communities depended on the forest resources earlier and the challenges they face at present. She stressed the importance of Adivasi rights over forest resources and the immediate need for the implementation of Forest Rights and how it would help the communities to access and manage their traditional resources within their ancient domains.
Exhibitions and Sales
More than 200 seed savers and conservators from Karnataka and various other states participated in the event. Farmers from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka who are involved in the conservation of indigenous and traditional seeds not only participated but also displayed the seeds they have been saving for years. At the same time, these traditional and indigenous seeds were sold and exchanged. The festival featured more than 50 stalls showcasing hundreds of varieties of millets, over a thousand varieties of paddy, pulses, tubers, greens, and vegetables—including unique varieties like legumes from West Bengal, rice from Odisha, uncultivated greens and tuber crops from Wayanad, Kerala.
Keystone Foundation had also exhibited 36 different varieties of mixed farming crops of the Sholiga community, 30 different varieties of uncultivated greens, and 36 different varieties of paddy crops from Wayanad, as well as poster displays of the many edible plants in one of the stalls arranged as part of the event.
Many invited dignitaries and heads of the Institution of Agricultural Technologists visited these displays and interacted with the farmers, and gave many suggestions for the conservation of indigenous seeds and methods of farming. While interacting with these people in the government authorities, the conservators of indigenous and traditional seeds from each state shared their experiences and methods of conservation.
Conclusion
There were a lot of knowledge-sharing, learning, and seed exchanges held as part of the event. The exhibitions were also well appreciated by the visitors. The food served on both of these days was also organic and traditional. The Seed festival was attended by Mahadesha, Ramachandran, Saneesh, and Shivanna from Keystone Foundation and the community fellows of Using Diversity Project, Parvati, Rathna, Muniyappa, Sathish, and Nagaraju.
