The return of indigenous rice

Rice is Asia’s most deeply revered treasure. Rice is life for thousands of millions of people. It is deeply embedded in the cultural heritage, spiritual, traditions and norms of Asians.

Rice over the centuries has sculpted the culture and traditions of India. We find information on rice culture covering the last 5000 years in Ayurveda, Buddhist and Jain literature.



Many in the present generation are not aware of the diversity of rice that we have. Farmers of many succeeding generations have innovated, developed, and adopted practices and technologies that have increased diversity.

Each variety of rice is characterised by distinct textures and flavours, and India has a diversity of rice cuisines based on regional specialities and the traditional dishes associated with each variety. 

But unfortunately, most of the diversity is going extinct. India had 200,000 varieties of rice before the Green Revolution. Now only a few hundred are cultivated. 

 

Resurrecting good practices among farmers 

Sahaja Samrudha encourages the saving of seeds, a customary practice of indigenous and local communities which guarantees access to vital foodstuffs. Seeds have been faithfully reproduced and handed down from generation to generation conserving flavour, nutrition, and resistance to pest and diseases. 

To increase local awareness and improve the flow of seed within and between communities, the organisation has run big events like Diversity Fair, Seed Festival, Red Rice Fair, Organic Fair and Millet Mela.  On average, such events attract around 3000-5000 people. They provide direct market access to farmers and this plays a crucial role in their economic development. 

Farmers markets are an integral part of the rural-urban linkage and have continued to rise in popularity. 

Sahaja Samrudha has also developed a connectivity network of consumers and producers for the procurement and marketing of indigenous rice under the brand name Sahaja Organics.