Telangana woman farmer saves 650 varieties of native vegetable and flower seeds; sells across India

Gajawada Swaroopa grew up seeing her mother growing vegetables in her kitchen garden. From fenugreek and spinach to chillies and onions, her mother grew most vegetables at home. She would let some vegetables dry on the plants to save the seeds for the next crop.

“I was familiar with the importance of saving native seeds as they can be used in the next crop cycle, require less water and are climate-resilient,” Swaroopa tells 30Stades.

However, she never thought about increasing her mother’s collection of seeds. “I got married in 2000, and we lived on rent for 16 years. My life changed when we bought a house in 2016 and shifted there,” she says.

It was an old house with three rooms and a garden in Rajanna Sircilla, Telangana. 

“The previous owner left behind the garden with plants of yams, pumpkins, curry leaves and some other vegetables. Excited, I started putting more seeds in the garden to grow my vegetables,” says 49-year-old Swaroopa.

She began cultivating corn, tomatoes, pumpkin, brinjals and chillies. 

Also Read: With Rs 150 and a bike, this farmer saved 300 native vegetable seeds; sells across India

Sowing the seeds of conservation

Alongside, Swaroopa started visiting the nearby villages to get more seeds for her garden. “I met a large number of vegetable growers using native seeds. However, the number of farmers using native seeds was reducing. This is because their children were working in cities and the farmers had no incentive to save seeds for the future,” she says.

That led Swaroopa to start native seed conservation. 

“My husband used to take me to farms on his bike on holidays. I would stop at the farms and take seeds from native farmers. Nobody is cultivating most of these rare plants today,” says Swaroopa, who has won awards for her work.

Swaroopa collected the seeds from farmers, gardeners and tribal people in and around Rajanna Sircilla. “As a woman, it was tough to leave behind my household and request people to share seeds. I have worked extremely hard to collect these heirloom seeds and help biodiversity conservation,” the woman farmer says.

“In the last nine years, I have saved 650 varieties of native seeds. Around 450 are vegetables, while the rest are flowers, herbs, paddy and millets.”

Her collection includes 15 types of ladies fingers, brinjal (20), chillies (10), gourds – 25, tubers five, turmeric of eight types, including black, kasturi, and green haldi, cluster beans (25), snake gourd of five varieties, including a one-inch gourd and 15 types of tomatoes.

“One tomato variety is small like peppercorns, and another one is big, with each piece weighing half a kg. Then there is a quick-cooking tomato. If you add it to any dish, it will cook faster than usual,” she says.

She also has eight varieties of tulsi or basil, including black tulsi, red tulsi (pagadala) and another variety grown by farmers to ward off mosquitoes. “It is a strong mosquito repellent,” Swaroopa says.

From purple spinach to tiny gourds and giant tomatoes, her collection is vast and diverse.

Also Read: How this MBA farmer saved over 1,000 varieties of native vegetable seeds

Seed propagation and sale 

Apart from her home garden and terrace, she grows flowers and organic vegetables on about 0.2 acres (1000 gaj). “I sell the seeds to home gardeners, terrace growers and others interested in native seeds. The seed packets are priced between Rs 10 and Rs 50, depending on the variety and the number of seeds. I send them through India Post.” 

She can be contacted for seeds purchase through her Instagram page and YouTube Channel.

For conservation, Swaroopa lets the vegetables dry completely on the plant. “I then remove the seeds and save them in glass bottles or plastic jars. I add neem leaves and ash of pumpkin leaves to ensure that seeds don’t get infected,” she adds.

Swaroopa also sows seeds of plants like tamarind, pumpkin, papaya and others in and around her village. “They can become food for monkeys and birds. I also feed monkeys regularly,” she says. 

Indian farmers are increasingly saving native seeds due to their resilience to local conditions, lower input requirements, and contribution to biodiversity. “These seeds are adapted to local climates and soil types, requiring less water and zero chemicals. I am glad I am helping preserve valuable genetic diversity,” Swaroopa adds.

(Rashmi Pratap is a Mumbai-based journalist specialising in financial, business and socio-economic reporting)

Also Read: Five farmers who save and sell native vegetable seeds to promote biodiversity

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