The two-day Desi Beejotsava - a festival of indigenous seeds and farmers conserving them - held at Nanjaraj Bahadur Choultry in the City concluded on Sunday.

Seed conservators from different parts of the State shared seeds and information on seed conservation with the visitors at the Desi Beejotsava organised under the aegis of Sahaja Samrudha, the Karnataka Biodiversity Board, and Sahaja Seeds.

Beeja matha Padmamma from Kanagal in Periyapatna displayed 150 varieties of paddy seeds. A unique feature of her stall was the distribution of seeds to interested visitors in small paper packets. 

Nagaraju from Manakatti village in Haveri district brought rare medicinal plants and yam tubers for sale. Hulikadu Farmer Producer Company from H.D. Kote sold uncultivated plants and vegetable seeds, while Kalappa of Hitne Hebbagilu in Periyapatna, a well-known seed conservator, displayed and sold leafy vegetables and vegetable seeds. Devdanya Farmer Producer Company from Kundgol exhibited more than 100 varieties of millet and pulse crops, said a statement from the organisers.

Seed enthusiasts visited the festival in large numbers and actively purchased seeds and plants. Visitors showed keen interest in purchasing “Shankara Jackfruit,” popularly known as the King of Red Jackfruits, and “Juice Bilwa,” a fruit tree popular in North India but relatively new to Karnataka.

Naturally grown mango varieties such as Mallika, Imam Pasand, Dasheri, Amrapali, Langra, and Malgoba were sold at prices ranging from ₹70 to ₹150 per kilogram.

Naturally grown farm produce commanded a premium price. “Our Dasheri and Amrapali mangoes have a unique taste. Since we allow the fruits to grow naturally, rain and wind often cause black spots on the skin. Local traders use this as an excuse to offer very low prices. At the seed festival, we offered fruit samples to visitors, and customers appreciated the taste and bought all the mangoes we had brought,” said Hoysala Appaji from Holenarasipura. 

Nagamma from Nooralakuppe in H.D. Kote expressed her satisfaction with the response to her product. “In our village, there were hardly any buyers for jackfruit. At the festival, we cut the fruits, cleaned the bulbs and sold them directly,” she said.

As part of the festival, a drawing competition was organised for children. Through their artwork, children depicted various dimensions of seed diversity and seed culture. In the 5–9 years category, Rishika Nandi S.K. won the first prize, Kushal R. secured the second prize, Drushya S. won the third prize, while Ritanya and Apoorva received consolation prizes. In the 10–12 years category, Vismaya won the first prize, Dheeraj K. secured the second prize, Gokul Aryan won the third prize, and Samruddh S.K. received the consolation prize.

S. N. Vasudevan, Dean of Alva’s College of Agriculture, Moodbidri, distributed prizes to the winners. 

On the occasion, the “Karnataka Seed Conservators Directory” was released by Vijayalakshmi, Executive Officer of the Karnataka Biodiversity Board.

For the benefit of customers who could not attend the seed festival, arrangements have been made for the sale of native seeds and organic products at Kisan Mall, located within the Horticulture Nursery premises near Kukkarahalli Lake, Mysuru. For further information, contact Srinivas at 9900746499.