Post-Aila,farmers wake up to forgotten salt-resistant paddy varieties

“Farmers across Bengal have lost more than 90 per cent of the traditional rice varieties. The salt-resistant varieties,of which six were cultivated in abundance at one point of time long ago,can no longer be found,” said scientist A K Ghosh,who is part of the National Biodiversity Authority under the Ministry of Environment.

The six salt-resistant rice varieties that have become extinct now and which could be grown in knee-deep salt water are: Hamilton,Matla,White Getu,Balck Getu,Nona Bokra and Talmugur. The high-yielding paddy can grow when the soil salinity is below one milimose. But it rose to 12 milimose after cyclone and gradually came down to 3 milimose — which traditional varieties can tolerate.

Way back in 1947,Bengal was known for its 6,000 rice varieties,each with its distinct generic character. South Bengal,which once recorded 100 different traditional rice varieties,has none left now.

Aila is set to have a long-standing effect on the island villages of the Sunderbans. It has wiped out large portions of the fertile soil,particularly spread over the Gosaba and Basanti blocks. And the large incursion of saline water will have a debilitating impact on agriculture and fishery in the delta.

The only possible answer at the moment to the agricultural crisis,according to experts,lies in harvesting the salt-resistant rice varieties. These traditional varieties were not only reported to be more suitable to local soil conditions and also better equipped to withstand natural calamities like Aila.

According to environmental scientists,since the Green Revolution of the 1960s,the policies of the government led to the introduction of high-yielding varieties of seedlings along with large-scale use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides,besides the use of canal irrigation system. This resulted in homogenization of agriculture,helping the country tide over the crisis of 1960s.

“However,the policymakers and scientists advising the government failed to remind them of the need to diversify rice varieties. And tell farmers to conserve in their own fields,even in small quantities,the traditional varieties of rice. As a result of years of wrong advice,farmers across Bengal do not have any access to more than 90 per cent of the traditional rice varieties,” added Ghosh.

“Had the farmers been told and taught how to conserve such important varieties,Aila’s impact on agriculture in Sunderbans wouldn’t have been so enormous,” said Ghosh.

With the increasing sea water level,scientists are concerned that unless an alternative is provided to farmers of the region,there may be massive migration in search of food.

“In 2007,a group of scientists,including myself,had gone to Bali (one of the 52 islands of Sunderbans) to hold extensive consultation with the farmers from all islands. We wanted to impress upon them the use of traditional varieties of rice,which reduces costs involved in chemical fertilizers,pesticides and operating cost of water pumps. Five of the traditional varieties were given to them.

“Initially,only five of the 300 farmers accepted them. But when scientists showed them the usefulness of such varieties against the high-yielding ones,the demand rose. From only five,25 farmers began harvesting it within a year. Even the area under cultivation of traditional varieties increased from four bighas to 32 bighas. The government will have to make such efforts to address the growing food crisis,” said Ghosh.