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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Rice and fall of great desi crop: India has lost 1.10 lakh traditional varieties

Rice and fall of great desi crop: India has lost 1.10 lakh traditional varieties

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published Published on Apr 19, 2016   modified Modified on Apr 19, 2016
-The Times of India

Rice varieties that could grow during droughts or floods, tolerate saltwater, and carry distinct aromas or medicinal benefits - India has lost 1.10 lakh such traditional rice types. Some fifty years ago, these varieties abounded in the country, which is striving currently to ensure food security for all. Now, however, only 7,000odd local varieties remain and not all are grown.

A traditional variety of rice is passed from generation to generation and family to family."It took almost 12,000 years for these diverse varieties to be created," said Dr Debal Deb, a rice conservationist and a biologist."We destroyed or lost them in just 30 years or so. This is the sad state of our heritage."

Deb has preserved 1,200 desi rice varieties, which were showcased in a unique two-day rice exhibition in Ahmedabad, organized by the Ahmedabad Heritage Venture Lab (AHVL). In all, 1,800 varieties were displayed at the exhibition."Some varieties can grow without a single drop of water. Others can be grown in ponds that are 3 to 4 feet deep. A few grow even under 12 feet of water," Deb said. Rice varieties such as Jugal have two rice grains in one kernel, and Sateen has three.

According to Deb, some traditional rice varieties have high levels of micronutrients. Despite billions of dollars of investment, companies have not been able to create genetically modified crop which can pack more micronu trients than the in digenous variants.

The value of traditional varieties becomes even more important in the imate change, which wake of climate change, which results in shifting rainfall patterns and extreme temperatures.The availability of local varieties is crucial as modern agriculture relies only on limited varieties.

Deb blames the green revolution and high yielding hybrid seeds for the extinction of traditional seeds. He also rued the fact that not a single government research institute has evinced interest in carrying out research on local rice varieties because they are not linked to gross domestic product or biotechnology .

Since 1996, Deb has been engaged in conservation of hundreds of traditional rice varieties with his extensive germplasm-collection expeditions across 11 states of India.

Deb has founded India's largest non-governmental rice gene bank called Vrihi (Sanskrit for rice) and has conserved 1,120 varieties in situ. He runs a research farm called Basudha in Odisha.

Gujarat had over 250 varieties of millet

Although Gujarat may not have many traditional rice varieties, over 250 indigenous varieties of millets were found in the state and most of them are lost now.

A serving of silver

Out of the 1,200 varieties preserved and conserved by Deb, one traditional variety called `Garib Sal' has silver in it. This variety was found in one district of West Bengal. The rice was found to be have silver in it. This is the first time a plant was discovered where silver was absorbed from the land. However, this variety is not grown presently anywhere in the country. This type of rice may have been used for medicinal purposes. It is assumed that it was given to people gastric infections as silver kills germs. "We came across this rice grain while looking for varieties having metals such as iron and zinc," Deb added.

The Times of India, 17 April, 2016, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Rice-and-fall-of-great-desi-crop-India-has-lost-1-10-lakh-traditional-varieties/articleshow/51861214.cms


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