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patronize landraces that have many primitive features and

are often photo-insensitive and early maturing.

The landraces growing were found to harbour genes

for biotic and abiotic stresses, aroma and palatability and

hold promise for their utilization in future plant breeding

and biotechnology programmes. Tribal communities have

preferences for these landraces for their cooking quality,

palatability, suitability for value addition, long straw for

thatching and fodder. The farming practices followed by

them are of great value for sustainable agriculture and food

and nutrition security. Often, such traditional knowledge

isn’t largely recognized for sharing of benefits or rewards

accruing to the community for conserving these landraces.

Diversity loss has been observed in rice. During 1955-

1959, the Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack

collected 1,745 germplasm accessions of cultivated rice,

which is popularly known as the Jeypore Botanical Survey.

Among the collections, some perennial wild species

(Oryza

rufipogon)

, annual wild species

(Oryza nivara)

and natural

hybrids (Spontanea rices) were dominant. In a similar effort

during 1995-1996 by MSSRF, only about 350 landraces of

rice could be collected in the region, indicating a rate of

loss of genetic diversity in a span of 40 years. Changing

economic conditions are attributed to the erosion of knowl-

edge on natural resources in Jeypore tract. Notably, in the

central area of Jeypore tract, recent irrigation facilities have

replaced landraces with high-yielding varieties and influ-

enced traditional agricultural practices.

Realizing the need to develop procedures for recognizing

and rewarding the contributions of tribal and rural families,

particularly those of women, in the conservation and enhance-

ment of genetic diversity, initiatives were taken by MSSRF

since 2000 onwards to conserve, cultivate, consume and

commercialize biodiversity with a special focus on landraces

of rice, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention

on Biological Diversity. The selfless efforts of tribal communi-

ties of Jeypore tract earned them the Equator Initiative Award

in 2002 at the World Summit in Johannesburg. The award has

been a significant motivational factor for the tribal community

of Jeypore in Orissa to initiate an endogenous and sustain-

able mechanism of people’s self-organizing actions into a local

social system. Thus, it resulted in the formation and registra-

tion of a farmers’ association, ‘Panchabati Grama Unnayan

Samiti’ (PGUS) in 2003. PGUS was formed to popularize the

success achieved in harnessing science and technology to

make the villages self-reliant in agriculture and food security.

PGUS has been active since then in terms of dissemi-

nating appropriate technologies for conservation and

production enhancement of local crops (rice, millets,

pulses), enabling food security to a great extent. Access

benefits from entitlement schemes have been enhanced

through effective linkage. Tree plantation was promoted

PGUS, both as avenue and in barren forest land, mainly

through the supply of saplings at household level. In-situ

conservation of 40 traditional rice landraces has been

demonstrated in two villages, especially identified by PGUS.

Seventeen landraces have been raised by 23 farmers in 13

acres (primarily for their own consumption). Machhakanta,

Kalajeera and Haladichudi landraces have been popularized

in a larger area. Kalinga Kalajeera Dhan Utpadak Samabya

Ltd, with its linkage to Orissa rural development and

marketing society, helped in marketing substantial quanti-

ties of Kalajeera rice variety. Village grain seed banks have

been established by PGUS to provide farmers with access

to quality seeds in time.

Hence, community institutions based biodiversity

management and empowerment processes including

research, development and legal support mechanisms are

imperative and have been critical for hindering genetic

erosion, enhancing local resource-based livelihoods and

rewarding community conservation traditions.

National and global recognition for

conservation traditions

The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority

(PPVFRA), Government of India conferred the Koraput tribal

communities with a Plant Genome Saviour Community Award

in 2007. The Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India

presented the tribal communities of Koraput with a National

Water Conservation Award in 2011.

The United Nations Development Programme Equator Initiative

Innovative Partnerships Award was awarded to the tribal

communities of the Jeypore tract for the on-farm conservation

of biodiversity, during the World Summit on Sustainable

Development at Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002.

The Food and Agriculture Organization declared the

Koraput region as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage

System in 2012. This award is for maintaining unique tribal

traditional agricultural practices, conservation and utilization

of inherited traditional knowledge for local food security in

relation to cultural diversity.

Tribal men marketing Kalajeera paddy at Koraput: Kalajeera is one of the

rice varieties that has been popularized over a larger area

Image: MSSRF

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