Kisan Swaraj sammelan in Gujarat: 4,000 indigenous crops from 19 states attract visitors as 200 farmers turn conservationists

An acre of his 16-acre farm land, in Kirugavalu village of Mandya district, is a ‘diversity block’ which he uses for this conservation. Of the 120 mango varieties, Khan said 116 have been recognised by the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resource (NBPGR) with an Indigenous Collection (IC) number.

“The roots of these varieties date back to 350 years. No one knows the exact year of their origin or where they came from. It is said that our entire village was a mango orchard but then people cut the mango trees and switched to paddy cultivation. My ancestors, however, decided to preserve the mango varieties instead,” he said.

Khan explained that now his whole family is dedicated to the conservation of these trees. “These trees have been in our family for six generations. Now my three brothers and I nurture them. My children have also started contributing to that end,” he said.

On the special conservation required for these trees, he said, “No additional care is given to these trees. We just leave them to nature. Even pruning is not required and trunks of some of these trees are huge enough to accommodate a small room.”

Addressing a crowd of inquisitive visitors at his stall during the sammelan, Khan said that the trees give a yield of five to ten tonnes of mangoes in a season. These mangoes are supplied to local markets as well as exported to other countries.

“We also supply plant saplings prepared through stem propagation. In fact, the mango varieties developed from stem propagation have a better yield compared to ones through seeds,” he explained.

The most popular varieties, he said, include mangoes that taste like sweet lime, mangoes that look like apples and another that are sugar-free.

Apart from the mangoes, Khan cultivates paddy beneath the trees in the same farmland.

On managing two varieties of plants with extreme water requirements, Khan said, “It is believed paddy needs stagnant water but I have experienced it is untrue. Weeding is the main problem in paddy cultivation, to avoid this, farmers let it grow in stagnant water. But we have indigenous rice varieties that are even drought resistant. Each variety is unique. While some are harvested in 180 days, some can harvest in 60 days.”

One other participant, at the sammelan, is 65-year-old Kwakeithel Thokchom Leikai from Manipur.

Leikai has been preserving 265 varieties of local rice and vegetables for the last 15 years.

“In 2012, I received an award from Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority for the preservation of 10 varieties of rice because of their rarity. I had taken that up as a hobby. That was a big motivating factor. Now it is my mission to preserve these varieties of paddy and vegetables,” Leikai said.

Out of 500 traditional varieties of rice in Imphal, Leikai said he has been able to preserve over a 100.

However, he explains, it has not been easy. “Living in an insurgent area, I have faced many problems. Some threats to my life as well,” he said.

Nearly 200 conservators of crops from 19 states are participating in the Sammelan that started on Friday. They have put more than 4,000 varieties of crops and hundreds of uncultivated forest food on display at the three-day event.