(Part III: Status of Hybrid Seeds) Why traditional farming practices are Diminishing in Hilly regions of Uttarakhand — By Pooja Kala
The current Status of Seed industry (Global and in India): A review
The global seed industry was valued at USD 52.7 Billion and it is expected to register a CAGR of 7.1% during the forecast period, 2018 to 2023. The consumption of grain is maximum and hence the demand is supposed to increase in the near future. In 2016, around 26 countries grew 185.1 million hectare of biotech crops, registering an increase of 3% (5.4 million hectare), from 179.7 million hectare in 2015. GM seeds growth rate has been on an increase over the recent years, and have increased from 58.5 million hectare in 2015 to 75.4 million hectares in 2016, a 29% increase, equivalent to 16.9 million hectare. With respect to segmentation according to the crop the grains & cereals segment is the largest segment of the market studied, and is expected to record a CAGR of 6.3% during the forecast period.
Under this category, maize and rice seeds are of key importance in Asia-Pacific, which is the fastest growing region across the globe. The vegetable seed segment is expected to record the fastest growth during the forecast period, recording a CAGR of 8.7%, followed by the oilseed crops segment. The total value of the seed industry in India was proposed to be of USD 600 million by 2022. The role of private companies in this sector has constantly been increasing since the recent years. According to IMARC Group’s latest report titled, “Seed Industry in India: Market Trends, Structure, Growth, Key Players and Forecast 2018–2023”, the Indian seeds market reached a value of USD 3.6 Billion in 2017, exhibiting a CAGR of around 17% during 2010–2017.
The Indian seed market has witnessed a major restructuring after release of certain progressive policies by the government. Seed Development, 1988 and National Seed Policy, 2002 have helped to develop R&D, product development, supply chain management and quality assurance. Owing to this, India has emerged as the fifth largest seed market across the globe. The Indian seeds market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.3% during 2018–2023, reaching a value of more than USD 8 Billion by 2023.
Where did the traditional seeds go after the green revolution?
Agriculture is considered to be the backbone for nearly 58 percent of the population in India. More than half of the population is currently engaged in this activity. As per Union Budget 2018–19, allocation of USD 8.9 billion was made for The Agriculture Ministry. India also stands amongst the fifteen lead exporters of the country. The contribution of percentage of exports was about 12.26 percent in the financial year 2016–2017.
The impressive growth that had been achieved in this sector in the last few years can be owed to green revolution that not only made the country self dependent but also led to production of surplus for the exports. But it also led to something that is being realized now that is loss of traditional seed varieties, the varieties that once could be offered to the further generations and had high vigor. On the contrary hybrid seeds are natural cross bred plants and cannot be passed on to the further generations. The hybrid seeds have a huge commercial market and there is a price that a farmer has to pay each year for the seeds. Also the seeds cannot be grown for the next generation for either they will not grow or else show low yield.
Green revolution somehow advocated for the growth of high yielding varieties, these varieties were somehow a replacement to the traditional varieties. The problem somehow was not in the indigenous seeds but in their ability to stand for applications of chemicals. The initiation site was Punjab and later it spread to the entire country. The present scenario is such that either the seeds are extinct for some of the region or else are being regulated by local farmers groups in local seed banks.
Revival of traditional seeds in the country (Seed Conservators)!!
There has been a slow and gradual change in the approach of the farmers in some parts of the country in this term where they have started moving to adoption of traditional practices. The practice that was sustainable in nature. The traditional farming methods or seeds somehow provided the farmers to pass on the seeds to next generation, seeds that were adapted naturally to changing climate patterns. Though we cannot overlook hybrid seeds but the importance of traditional seeds is equally important as traditional seed matters. They produce hardy and good yields with high nutritional value and they need not be accessed from the market every time. They also reduce need for costly inputs as they are naturally adaptable to the environment. The farmers earlier had a method of saving and conserving seeds and also exchanging it amongst themselves. On the other hand hybrids cannot be saved and shared and have been developed for certain situations. Somehow the old tradition needs to be taken as a part of our traditional knowledge and efforts must be made to conserve it.
In one of the stories published Jayaraman residing in the southern state of Tamilnadu gave up reliance on hybrid seeds and started working on the revival of the traditional varieties. He has successfully managed to revive at least 150 varieties in the region and act as an evangelist. Since then there are many organizations in the southern states that are trying to revive wealth of traditional varieties suitable to the climate of the region. India was once home to a whooping 100,000 indigenous varieties in the region.
Another story is from Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra where Rahibai Soma Popere has helped in the revival of 48 indigenous breeds of 17 different crops — including paddy, hyacinth bean, millets, pulses and oil seeds. The farmers in the region realized how hybrid seeds lost their vigor in some years and dwarf varieties led to hay shortage for livestock. Rahibai realized this and shared the 5,000 seedlings of hyacinth beans in 25 villages. Rahibai’s inventory of crops includes Kolbhat — a scented, long fine rice with good fodder quality, Dhavul — a short variety rice consumed as gruel for instant energy, Rajbhog — another long fine rice that can withstand high rainfall and Godval — a hyacinth bean, which grows both in rabi and kharif seasons and is drought tolerant.
This is a story of Sundarbans which was once home to naturally occurring saline tolerant rice varieties such as “Dudheshwari” which has low input costs and is easier to grow than the modern ones. The introduction of high yielding varieties of Paddy during Green Revolution somehow wiped out wiped the islanders traditional varieties. Somehow now NGO’s are being created for storage of such seeds in banks.
Dr. Prabhakar Rao is one of the seed keeper and has saved about 500 rare varieties. At Hariyalee Seeds farms, just on the outskirts of Bengaluru, he started testing these varieties for genetic stability and environmental suitability. At ‘Hariyalee Seeds’, 19 varieties of 23 tomatoes, 24 varieties of capsicum and chillies, six varieties of brinjals (eggplant), five types of okras, 11 varieties of basils, 15 varieties of edible lettuces and mustards are being preserved.
Vijay Jardhari is a pioneer for the revolution of Beej bachao Andolan. The varieties that he has conserved include 20 varieties of rajma (kidney beans), distinctive variety of red rice called Chardhan, indigenous varieties like Thapchini, Jhumkiya, Rikhwa and Lal Basmati. The farmers here were avoiding monoculture in a method called Baranaja (12 grains), which involves the multi-cropping of a number of cereals and legumes which is helpful for food security. Different crops are harvested at different times of the year and ensure year-round supply of food. ‘Beej Bachao Andolan’ has about 150 varieties of paddy from which 100 different varieties can still be grown. BBA has also collected more than 200 varieties of rajma. All this is done with traditional farming methods and no application of fertilizers.
This story is from ‘Uttar Pradesh’ of how green revolution had erased the traditional varieties from the area and farmers resorted to the adoption of the high yielding varieties. Most of the farmers grew ‘Pant Dhan -4' and other high yielding varieties which demanded high requirements of fertilizers and irrigation. In the course of time the water level receded due to several reasons such as less water in Bhakra river and Bore dam, destruction of forests and eucalyptus plantations. During this period one farmer ‘Inder Singh’ grew indigenous varieties including ‘Indrasan’ that were good in climate tolerance, pest susceptibility, aroma and other factors. ‘Indrasan’ coped well with drought and reached a peak production of 32 quintals per acre.
(End of Series) Thank You!
About Author: Ms. Pooja Kala is a research expert for kheti-badi.com, and covers the various aspects of Organic / Natural farming practices from Himalaya (North India). In this series, she has emphasized on traditional farming practices from Himalaya and how age old method of preserving traditional seed varieties plays an important role in the Eco-system of the hilly region. This story is in three (3) parts, click here to read Part-I and Part-II.
About kheti-badi.com : kheti-badi.com is a platform to buy-sell organic products directly from farmers, the registration and listing products is free.
