In a major decision, the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) has conserved the germplasm of four minor millets of Kushalgarh region in Rajasthan’s Banswara district as national assets in its gene bank and allotted unique identification numbers to them. The move will help protect the four millet varieties, which are on the verge of extinction.
The action has been taken following the efforts of southern Rajasthan’s advocacy groups working to safeguard the interests of the tribal communities. The four varieties, which were an important element of tribals’ dietary practices, are finger millet (ragi), kodo millet (kodo), proso millet (cheena) and foxtail millet (kang).
The NBPGR is a nodal agency of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, engaged in the management of plant genetic resources. Its state-of-the-art national gene bank is the world’s second largest biorepository preserving genetic material. Germplasm is a living tissue from which new plants can be grown.
The tribal communities in southern Rajasthan have been preserving indigenous seed varieties as an activity to establish the link between crop diversity and climate resilience. However, new agricultural techniques have adversely affected the tradition and left several crops vulnerable to loss and extinction.
Banswara-based agricultural scientist Pramod Rokadia, who retired as a professor from Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture & Technology, Udaipur, said on Wednesday that the millet varieties would be conserved for future generations in the form of seeds and genomic resources. The cultivation of these crops had reduced to a bare minimum because of changing environment and agricultural practices, he said.
While the indigenous seed varieties are inherently compatible with the local farming conditions and are economically practical and environmentally sustainable, the cultivation of millets has gradually reduced because of lack of availability. The local varieties of crops grown traditionally by the tribals may become extinct in the years to come, according to agricultural experts.
Jayesh Joshi, secretary of Vaagdhara group working on tribal livelihood issues, said the nutrition-rich millet crops grew in less water and had the flexibility to adjust to environmental hazards and adverse weather conditions. “The gradual loss of these crops has posed a challenge to the tribal way of life. Their germplasm conservation is a major step for restoration of their role in nutritional security,” he said.
The conservation of genetic material of minor millets also assumes significance in the context of declaration of 2023 as the International Year of Millets by the United Nations General Assembly. The Vaagdhara group has also sent eight varieties of maize and paddy crops to the NBPGR with the recommendation for their preservation.
Published - October 13, 2022 04:32 am IST
