Magic
Seeds
By Harsh Dobhal
11 July, 2007
Countercurrents.org
While the government
is trying its best to make us believe that the patent regime will begin
another boom in agricultural, a solid mass of protest by NGOs and civil
society groups is highlighting the cruelty and negative impacts on farm
sector and bio-diversity. In this backdrop, Harsh Dobhal explains, how
an unassuming farmer inspired a movement to revive traditional agriculture
practices and eroding biodiversity, quietly sowing the seeds of revolution.Chipko
movement hit the headlines in the 1970s and now it is written in golden
letters of ecological movements across the globe. For the world it is
part of memory and nostalgia, but not for the people of Garhwal. They
still derive lessons from it and continue to better their lives by adding
to the prevailing ecological wisdom by the day.
Chipko
lives on - thriving and pulsating, challenging and sustaining. The men
and women who once hugged trees to save them from commercial felling,
continue their struggle to save nature and its children, local diversity
and culture.
"Kya hain jangal ke
upkar:
pani, mitti aur bayar,
ye hain jeene ke aadhar
What do forests bear:
water, soil and air;
these are the basis for life
The slogan, that reverberated
in the valleys of Garhwal Himalayas for the world to take notice in
the 1970s, is still echoing 30 years on, in the Hewalghati valley of
Tehri Garhwal. This time in the form of the Beej Bachao Andolan (Save
the Seeds Movement).
After the so-called success of the green revolution, High Yielding Variety
(HYV) seeds were being introduced all over the country and cash-crop
driven agriculture was destroying traditional farming.
Crop yields of the HYV started
becoming less in Garhwal, while soil fertility was declining and dependence
on toxic chemicals was increasing. The ecosystem was also severely damaged.
As a result, Chipko activist and a local farmer, Vijay Jardhari, and
other activists from Jardhargaon and nearby areas of Tehri Garhwal,
formed the Beej Bachao Abhiyan, later re-named as Beej Bachao Andolan
(BBA), to revive traditional farming methods and rejuvenate agriculture
diversity. The aim was to create awareness about 'modern but destructive'
agricultural practices, search and conserve indigenous seeds and promote
traditional and sustainable farming.
In the beginning, like others,
former Chipko activists from Henwalghati also used high yielding seeds
in the eighties. Having reaped bumper crops in the beginning, they soon
realised that productivity was declining and more and more chemicals
and fertilizers were needed to sustain the yield. "As we understood
the problem with the HYV crops, we wondered where the traditional seeds
had vanished? We realised that what we had achieved through Chipko,
was going down the drain through new technologies in agriculture. This
realisation led to the birth of BBA," says Jardhari. "It was
an easy choice to discontinue the cultivation of chemical-dependent
seeds, but the challenge was to convince other farmers. We had several
meetings to explain to the people that these new agricultural techniques
were harmful," Jardari says. "As we learnt more, we were shocked.
I could find only two varieties of local paddy available in my village."
This shocking realisation
was followed by long arduous treks or food marches to distant villages
to look for local, traditional, and diverse seeds. To the far-flung
areas where HYV seeds were yet to reach. The activists collected different
kinds of seeds. They also asked people to conserve rare seeds. These
yatras also became occasions for cultural re-assertion, reciting folk
stories, re-thinking oral traditions, poems, songs and reviving collective
wisdom.
Now BBA, a non-formal collective of farmers and activists, is spread
all over Uttaranchal. From the villages of Jardhargaon, Nagni, Paturi
and Rampur in Henwalghati, it has spread to other areas of Uttaranchal
among non-ngo organisations like Adhar in Almora, Samudayik Chetna Kendra
in Nainital and Vividhara in Nahikalan in Dehradun. The andolan is responsible
for producing over 200 varieties of rajma, over 350 varieties of rice
-- thapchini, jhumkiya, rikhwa, ramjawan, bangoi, hansraj and lal basmati
-- about 30-35 varieties of wheat, 12 varieties of mandua (finger millet),
eight varieties of jhangora (bharmyard millet), eight varieties of bhatt
(local soyabeen), 12 varieties of makka (corn), five varieties of gahat
(horsegram), eight varieties of lobia, apart from cheena (hong millet),
kauni (foxtail millet), junyali (pearl millet), rayaance (adjuki bean),
til (seasame), bhangir (perilla), among other local produce. Most of
these seed varieties were going extinct very fast.
The movement has also promoted
the use of traditional farming method called 'baranaja' whereby 12 crops
are grown simultaneously in the same field. This unique method provides
a security against drought and crop failure. The practice ensures supply
of food round the year as different crops are harvested at different
times.
A humble initiative like
BBA, which is not a part of the multi-billion dollar NGO industry, has
proved that even without funds and resources, those on the fringes of
society can take on the onslaught of globalisation.
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