Jagdalpur: A couple in Jagdalpur has managed to preserve over 350 varieties of paddy in order to protect biodiversity and preserve traditional seeds. India is well known across the globe for the varieties of paddy being cultivated and efforts being made by people for its preservation. Taking up the task of preserving paddy varieties, the couple has managed to preserve over 350 varieties, which common people have never heard about, including Ram Laxman, Ravan, Nariyal phool, Saras Panchi, Loktimachi, Kamal dhaan and others.
Speaking to ANI, farmer Vijay Kumar Bharat said that a Delhi-based organisation had launched a campaign for the protection of biodiversity and the preservation of traditional seeds of paddy. Mr. Bharat said,
Following the motivation for the organisation, we started preserving the traditional varieties otherwise it would get extinct as several companies in the market are developing hybrid seeds. If farmers will continue to purchase seeds from the market then they will not have seeds and several yielding varieties of paddy would get extinct.
The traditional varieties of seeds have the quality of producing high yield and did not put any adverse impact on health, added the farmer.
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As a result of the green revolution, several traditional varieties of paddy lost their existence in Punjab and Haryana, said Vijay Kumar, adding that both the regions witnessed rampant use of hybrid seeds and chemical fertilizer during its cultivation and as a result cases of cancer increases in both the places.
He also expressed gratitude towards Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel for promoting organic farming and the use of vermicompost in agricultural practices.
Giving details about the traditional varieties, Prabhati said,
We have preserved 350 varieties of paddy and efforts are on to collect more varieties. Of preserved varieties, some of them have medicinal properties.
Also Read: Protecting Biodiversity Top Priority Of Modi Government: Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – theLGBTQ population,indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fightmalnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health,adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoiletsare used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
