Grow Local, Eat Local: Bengal Farmers Hold A Celebration Of Indigenous Seeds.

Syllabus: GS-III.

Subject: Economic Development.

Topic: Cropping patterns in various parts of the country.

Context: Farmers organized an indigenous seed festival and pledged to conserve different varieties of native seeds.

Synopsis:

• Hundreds of farmers exchange native paddy, pulses, and vegetable varieties.
• Organized by ActionAid, Kajla Janakalyan Samiti, and Purba Medinipur Kisan Swaraj Samity.
• Part of ActionAid’s climate justice campaign, promoting sustainable farming.
• Aims to build discourse on climate change, organic farming, and seed conservation.
• Plan to establish grassroots seed banks across the state.
• Farmers emphasize the need to regain control over traditional seeds for safe food.
• Festival addresses environmental damage and vulnerability caused by modern agriculture.

Climate Resilience Agriculture:

• Climate-resilient agriculture (CRA) is an approach to farming that helps agricultural systems withstand organized the increasing challenges(droughts, flash floods) posed by climate change.
• preparing the crop to face the harsher and more unpredictable weather patterns that are becoming the new normal.

 It focuses on

1. Adaptation.
2. Sustainable Resource Management.
3. Encouraging biodiversity-livestock.
4. Knowledge and Innovation- adapting new technologies.

Source: The Hindu