A.J. Vinayak

Mangalore , July 30

GULVADY Sanna, Atikaraya, Atikaya, Gandhasale are some of the paddy varieties grown in Mittabagilu, a village in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada district. Thanks to the seed bank set up there, now the village has more than 40 such local varieties of paddy seeds and more than 60 varieties of vegetables.

Some of the varieties were yielding more than that of the current `high-yielding' hybrid varieties. Varieties such as Gulvady Sanna and Gandhasale have aroma. According to some farmers, Gandhasale can be used for pulav, and Atikaraya, another paddy variety, has some medicinal values.

A non-governmental organisation — Nagarika Seva Trust (NST) — played a key role in setting up the seed bank, Namana (in Tulu, the word `namana' means ours).

During July 2003, the village farmers, in association with NST and Green Foundation of Bangalore, set up the seed bank.

Prior to 1975, the village was known as "treasure house" of paddy seeds and more than 100 local varieties were in existence there, say some elders in the area.

Mr B.K. Parameshwar, Director of NST, told Business Line that the number of local paddy varieties came down to eight during 1990s. Then some elders in the village took initiatives to adopt organic farming and encouraged farmers to collect and grow local varieties. Following this, Mr B. K. Devarao, a local farmer,was successful in growing 36 local paddy varieties in his field. Villagers have not yet got hold of some of the local varieties of vegetables, and efforts are on in this regard, Mr Parameshwar said.

Following the success of the Mittabagilu seed bank, one more seed bank has been set up at Handady village in Udupi district.

Mr Parameshwar attributes the success of the seed bank to the participatory approach by the farmers. At present, nearly 200 farmers in Mittabagilu and 100 in Handady are actively involved in the activities of the seed banks, he added.

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