Preserving past, forging future: Grandfather, grandson turn their 4-acre land into living indigenous-seed bank

This was leading to the loss of biodiversity, nutrition, taste and self-reliance, Amarjit believed. He began to collect and preserve indigenous seeds from different regions even though he lacked access to any modern marketing tools. In 2005, he started sowing desi vegetable varieties on a small portion of his land.

Amarjit Sharma works on his farm, where he began preserving disappearing indigenous seed varieties in 2005 after noticing farmers’ growing dependence on hybrid company seeds. (Express)

What started as a small effort soon became a mission.

By 2012-13, he had fully converted his fields into the seed production of desi vegetables and fruits.

Amarjit’s grandson Ravi said, “For nearly seven to eight years, he distributed seeds free of cost to several farmers just to multiply these seeds and spread awareness… Profit was never his primary motive, preservation was.”

Ravi Sharma, who joined his grandfather Amarjit’s initiative in 2019, now packages and sells indigenous seeds, helping turn their preservation effort into a sustainable farm enterprise. (Express)

Their farm slowly turned into a living seed bank.

In 2019, while pursuing BBA Ravi also stepped in more actively into his grandfather’s initiative.

“In the beginning, while doing my BBA, I joined the farm to strengthen the family income. I started packaging seeds in small pouches to sell them… As I observed my grandfather’s dedication, I realised this was more than farming — it was heritage conservation that needed to be multiplied.”

Where Amarjit brought decades of experience and seed knowledge, Ravi brought a touch of and digital outreach — social media promotion, financial planning and their own website — seniorseeds.in. Their online store includes Summer Seed Kit (Rs 849) with 43 varieties, Winter Combo (Rs 749) with over 36 varieties, Summer Combo and Big Winter Kits with additional varieties.

This was the start of their brand — Senior Seeds.

He said, “The name reflects our philosophy; no seed is ‘senior’ or superior to indigenous seeds.” Today, Senior Seeds cultivates over 100 traditional varieties. Their seed packets start at just Rs 20 for 15 grams. Most pouches contain between 15 to 30 grams, carrying 15 to 200 seeds depending on the crop.

Among their rare and indigenous varieties are chappan tinda, multiple types of bitter gourd (long, round, spiny), red maize, red musk melon, red ladyfinger, white kakri, cluster beans, sweet black carrot, radish (half-red long, full red round, sweet varieties), traditional palak, snake gourd, indigenous pumpkins, desi wheat, millets and pulses, tamarind, amba haldi (turmeric) including others.

Annually, they produce around 25 to 26 quintals of seeds across more than 100 varieties. On average, they harvest around six to seven quintals of different varieties of seeds per acre.

The Sharmas’ input cost per acre is approximately Rs 1 lakh, including seed production and labour. After expenses, they earn an average profit of nearly Rs 3 lakh per acre. In good seasons, the income can increase further. Even after accounting for occasional weather-related losses, their per-acre income remains nearly four times higher than conventional wheat-paddy cycles.

Currently, around 15 per cent of their production is exported to countries including Canada, Australia, the UK and New Zealand. Exports to the USA are temporarily paused due to tariff issues. Ravi also procures region-specific indigenous varieties from different parts of India to supply farmers with seeds best suited to their climatic conditions.

“Desi seeds offer better taste, higher nutritional value, and improved disease resistance compared to hybrids,” said Ravi. “Money is important,” he added, “but preserving indigenous seeds has now become our passion.”

Amarjit said, “I protected seeds quietly for years without recognition, but Ravi gave the mission structure and a global voice.”

“I preserved the past, he built the future.”