Indigenous Seeds Spur Agricultural Growth in India
Women tillers and farmers in Orissa Province.
Photo: CASA
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The use of local variety of seeds in the support of sustainable livelihoods in India has been widely promoted by the Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA), the development agency of the National Council of Churches in India and the main partner of CWS in its rural developmental work in the country. Several farms are being used as demonstration sites in the promotion of kitchen gardens, compost pits, mixed cropping, and the distribution of seeds to Self-Help Groups (SHG). Indigenous seeds of jowar, lady finger, cucumber, and moong were given to SHG members (a majority of them women) in order to promote sustainable agricultural practices such as indigenous crops and the use of organic manure, while at the same time increasing agricultural yields.
To cite a specific case, in the small village of Srirampur, in the Banamalipur area in Orissa, CASA collected 40 local varieties of seeds and cultivated one acre of land without using any chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Out of these 40 varieties, seven types of paddy varieties gave good produce. CASA therefore decided to take up community-based cultivation of these varieties (Jhumpa, Paundia, Majunakari, Bhatia Jat, Atarni, Chermilado and Sundri) in two acres of land, and further complemented this activity by organizing a series of skill-building sessions, training farmers in how to prepare organic manure to insure higher agricultural yields.
This project is being supported by Church World Service, with special funding from the Week of Compassion-Disciples of Christ, and is just one of the many programs of CASA.