News Excerpt:

Chotanagpur, with its rich agricultural heritage, has seen a revival of native rice varieties by the indigenous Adivasi communities. The region, located in the eastern part of India, is known for its diverse agro-ecological zones and traditional farming practices deeply intertwined with nature.

Rice cultivation in India:

• Rice has been cultivated in the broad region from the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas in India to China about 6,500-7,000 years ago. 
  • Over the past five decades rice has undergone an irreversible genetic erosion, with the disappearance of thousands of native rice seed varieties from farms in India.
• Half a century ago, more than 1,10,000 distinct varieties of rice grew in India.
  • These included rice that could survive on dry land farms without irrigation, deep-water farms and those which could withstand saline water on coastal farms.
  • The advent of the Green Revolution meant the government subsidised and heavily promoted a few imported high-yielding varieties, based on applying petrochemical inputs, such as pesticides and fertilisers. 
  • Within years, the number of native rice landraces that took thousands of years to evolve had dwindled from over one lakh to around 6,000, a loss of more than 90% of indigenous rice varieties.
• A 2023 study by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) found that the green revolution’s breeding programmes – focused on high-yielding varieties have resulted in worsening the nutrient profile of rice.

• • Zinc and iron had decreased by 33% and 27% in rice.

Impact of Green Revolution on the traditional rice varieties of India:

• Thousands of seed varieties were lost due to the narrow focus on rice yield.
• The diverse gene pool of rice was depleted as a result.
• Long-term soil productivity suffered due to this narrow focus.
• The disappearance of these indigenous crops is accompanied by the loss of knowledge and expertise of identifying and cultivating these native varieties, which include hundreds of aromatic varieties, those with medicinal properties, rich in specific nutrients, and crucially, the plasticity to adapt to unpredictable weather.

Native varieties of rice:

• The native seed varieties, which have survived several environmental conditions in their evolutionary history, do better in unpredictable weather and ensure food security.
• There are varieties such as Kolamaliphool that can survive in excess water from flooding.
• Rice varieties like Matla, Getu and Kallurundai can grow even on saline soil and survive the incursion of rising sea levels. 
• Kelas, Rangi, Gadaba, Kaya may give greater yields than even the modern HYVs (High Yielding Varieties).
• There are rice plants like Luchai that develop a red-coloured sheath which are high in medicinal properties.
• According to natives, Luchai rice is good to eat as they help control blood sugar levels.
• Rice such as Dudhe Bolta and Garib-Sal rice have abundant micronutrients such as iron and zinc. 
• These native rice varieties hold the capacity to provide reliable means of providing food security to smaller farmers.
• Traditional rice is grown without chemical fertilisers.
• They also aid in alleviating the rising costs associated with input-intensive modern hybrid varieties of rice.