Community seed bank initiative traces & restores heritage rice varieties in Tamil Nadu.


 Community seed banks have been promoted by identification of willing farmers based on location with assistance from local NGOs in 24 districts -- Ariyalur, Chengalpattu, Coimbatore, Dharmapuri, Dindugul, Erode, Kanchipuram, Karur, Madurai, Mayiladurai, Nagapattinam, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram, Ranipettai, Salem, Sivagangai, Tenkasi, Thanjavur, Thoothukudi, Thiruvannamalai, Thiruvarur, Tiruchirappalli, Villupuram & Viruthunagar.

A lead farmer cultivates one to many traditional varieties in his farm, a part of which when harvested is shared and distributed to other interested farmers in the neighboring localities and districts with or without payment. This is an informal structure with voluntary participation. A seed bank capital of Rs. 2000 was distributed to each beneficiary farmer to strengthen the heritage rice community seed banks.

The initiative by SASTRA Deemed to be University, with support from the Science and Heritage Research Initiative (SHRI) programme of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), is reviving, conserving, and characterizing the traditional rice varieties.

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