‘Re-seeding’ Kerala and Kodagu

NGO to donate indigenous vegetable seeds to farmers to ‘bring back diversity lost in the floods’

Seeds of chilli, brinjal, tomato, gourds, and radish will be given to farmers.

After the deluge, it is time to pick up the pieces. For many who are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood, it is going to be a start from scratch. A not-for-profit headquartered in Bengaluru is now offering to help farmers with the first steps.

Annadana Soil and Seed Savers Network, which, among other things, conserves heritage seeds, plans to donate indigenous vegetable seeds to “bring back the diversity that has been lost in the devastating floods in Kerala and Kodagu”.

These species, said founding trustee and chairperson Sangita Sharma, were taken from the same places that they will be going back to and include ginger, turmeric, chilli, brinjal, tomato, gourds, and radish.

“Annadana has been conserving heritage seeds for 17 years. Each year, around 20,000 to 30,000 seeds are given to farmers. We participate in seed exchange and sharing sessions and we have varieties collected during our visits to Kerala. We plan to give these indigenous seeds to Kerala and connect them back with them. After these floods, there is a need to revive the diversity that has been lost,” she said.

With the full impact of the devastation yet to be known, making it difficult to know the number of farmers affected and the number of seeds required, the NGO intends to distribute the free seeds to farmers in Kerala and Kodagu through networks of farmers. It also plans to offer technical expertise as well in helping farmers regenerate their soil through its ‘empowered farmers’ who double as master trainers.

“There is total devastation right now. Crops such as rubber, coconut, teak, and timber do not have the water-holding capacity like the forest species have. Forests must remain forests. The entire ecosystem has been shaken up in the recent past. The farmers in these regions now have a lot of work. They need to find out what was coexisting there and reintroduce that. Forests will have to be revived. We want to offer our expertise and revive food species. If the soil is healthy, indigenous varieties will quickly adapt themselves,” added Ms. Sharma.