This Karnataka woman farmer turns leased barren lands into lush green fields using native seeds

When Rajamma married about 55 years ago, her parents gifted her with a handful of heirloom seeds. Seeds are a source of life and are symbolic of prosperity. A woman with access to seeds can ensure food for her family. 

So, for over half a century, Rajamma, who belongs to the pastoral Kuruba community, has been dutifully multiplying those native or traditional seeds even though her family owns less than half an acre of land in the Tondahalli village in Mulabagilu of Karnataka’s Kolar district.

Growing and saving native seeds 

Kolar is drought-prone with a lack of forests, a semi-arid climate and inadequate rainfall. Farming is not easy in the region.

Yet, Rajamma takes 2 to 3 acres of land for lease to multiply the seeds and conserve them, turns the land into a green oasis, and has to then move on to the next piece of barren land as she does not own it. 

She uses organic practices for farming as well as native seed conservation. “We use red mud, ash and cow urine as fertilisers besides neem and Pongamia leaves. They are dried or mixed to form liquids to treat the seeds,” she says.

Rajamma has around 45 species of rain-fed crop seeds, each with at least three varieties, totalling about 120. They include varieties of sorghum, pearl millet, barnyard millet, foxtail millet, and kodo millet besides pulses and vegetables.

Collecting and saving seeds for the future involves closely monitoring the quality of the crop at various stages of cultivation and choosing the best plants 

“All the seeds are 100 percent organic, untouched by chemicals,” 71-year-old Rajamma tells 30Stades. 

She was recently in Bengaluru to showcase her seed conservation work at Ragi Kana’s Mahila Raitha Sankranti.  Every season, she propagates the native seeds under her vigilant eyes to avoid cross-pollination and maintain their genetic purity. Her son Prabhakara works with her to promote seed conservation and organic farming.

Also Read: This farmer conserves over 800 types of organic vegetable seeds; sells across India

Greening barren land using native seeds

Kshithij Urs, Executive Director at India Biochar and Bioresources Network (IBBN), who works closely with Rajamma and Prabhakara, says: “The seed sharing is limited because they own about 17 or 20 gunthas (around half an acre). They lease around 2 acres of land annually. They mostly take barren land and plant such good crops that the owners ask them to give back the land within a year.” 

The mother-son duo can transform the most barren lands into lush green fields within an agricultural season between six months and ten months. 

“When we take a barren land, we first conduct a soil test. The soil samples are taken at various stages of agricultural transformation. Then lake silt is applied to the field,” says Prabhakara.

Rajamma says they add farmyard manure, biochar (the outcome of a process of compacting carbon from the biomass available on the field) and green manuring.

Also Read: 65-year-old woman turns barren land into organic farm of medicinal plants, earns Rs50 lakh a year

They again test the soils and practice combination sowing. Sowing is done in around 20 parallel rows: one row each is for millets, bajra, castor, jowar, etc.  

“We follow Akkadi Saalu - a traditional intercropping system of Karnataka,” Prabhakara says. 

Using Akkadi Saalu, they cultivate a mix of crops like millets, pigeon peas, and oilseeds across different growing seasons, relying on rainwater. Legumes, which fix atmospheric nitrogen in their roots, enrich the soil with nutrients for other plants while also improving soil structure through the addition of organic matter. 

Also Read: Odisha scientist quits job to grow and conserve native paddy varieties; helps farmers shift to organic farming

This promotes biodiversity and regenerates dryland with zero chemical inputs. “We plant about 15-20 different varieties of crops each year and there is a method based on various agroclimatic zones,” Rajamma says. 

Usually, one or two main crops are planted and between them, other varieties of crops are grown based on a scientific plan. Up to 25 crops can be grown per acre of land like castor, toor, sesame etc. 

“For the next nine months, farmers get fresh green vegetables and produce not just for humans but also for birds - they can eat what they need, and crop residue generates nutritional fodder for cattle,” Rajamma adds.

Cimate-resilient native seeds

Kshithij says climate-resilient agriculture depends on climate-resilient seeds. “We have challenged the notion that climate-resilient seeds are developed in laboratories. Climate-resilient seeds are developed in the field. You have to let natural forces of resilience grow in plants,” he says. 

The Akkadi Saalu method is already climate-resilient because the diversity above the surface is comparable to the diversity below the ground, which is the root system. There are different types of roots, and they complement each other during excessive rain as well as prolonged dry spells. Bioindicators such as bee hives and bird nesting show the health of the field and tell the farmers not to use pesticides, Kshithij says. 

Rajamma shares the seeds with others to ensure continuity and conservation of seeds and help farmers because native seeds are naturally pest-resistant and require less water. 

“I have been sharing the seeds for the last 55 years. I have never bought any seeds from the market or used chemicals,” she adds. 

“I plant any extra seeds of pumpkin and different kinds of gourds in public places for people and birds to consume. We also produce surplus and hand it over to other farmers,” says Rajamma.

Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and NGOs procure seeds from Rajamma and her son Prabhakara. People from across Karnataka write to Rajamma and Prabhakara to procure the seeds from them. Officials from NGOs, KVKs, and the State Agricultural Department visit them to learn about native seed conservation. The mother and son are also a source of information and unparalleled documentation.

Prabhakara says they do not get government subsidies since they are marginal farmers and don’t own land. 

“However, the government invites us within and outside Karnataka and felicitates us and sometimes we work as trainers and earn some money for conducting sessions.”

 (Sravasti Datta is a Bengaluru-based independent journalist, who writes art, culture and human interest stories). 

Also Read: How Assam’s organic farmer is conserving 1,000 varieties of native paddy and vegetable seeds

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