With a view to popularising and conserving indigenous and traditional seed varieties, a two-day desi seed festival titled ‘Desi Beejotsava’ would be held at the Nanjaraja Bahadur Choultry in Mysuru on Saturday and Sunday, June 13 and 14.

Organised by Sahaja Samrudha in collaboration with the Karnataka Biodiversity Board and Sahaja Seeds, the desi seed festival would witness the participation of more than 50 seed conservators and members of community seed banks from different parts of Karnataka.

“Traditional crop varieties are appreciated by both farmers and consumers for their unique taste, diversity, and resistance to pests and diseases. Varieties such as rajamudi, rajabhoga, ratnachudi, putta bhatta, karikaddi ragi, kottitale badane, eerangere badane, guli tomato, sinagalu avare, and the red husk maize of Biligiri Rangana Hills are among the hundreds of traditional varieties that farmers have carefully preserved and passed down through generations. However, with the spread of high-yielding modern varieties, many traditional crops are disappearing due to a lack of cultivation, leading to the erosion of native seed diversity,” said a statement from the organisers.

The desi seed festival is set to showcase over 1,000 indigenous seeds, tubers, leafy vegetable varieties, and rare fruits. Demonstrations on seed treatment, soil conservation, and organic fertilizer preparation would also be conducted. 

With the monsoon season under way, arrangements have been made to provide farmers with access to a wide range of indigenous sowing seeds under one roof, the organisers said.

Saplings of increasingly popular fruit varieties such as shankara red jackfruit, juice bael (bilva), hippu jamun, and butter fruit (avocado) would be available for purchase. Fruit saplings would be sold by Sasyadhama Nursery, Mysuru, and Beluvala Thota. The Desi Seed Producer Company would offer traditional seeds of ragi, paddy, millets, pulses, and vegetables for sale. 

As part of the festival, a farmer training programme on ‘Seed Conservation and Organic Seed Production’ would be held at noon on Sunday. The training would be conducted by Ullas M.Y., a seed specialist from the University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Shivamogga, and Keshavamurthy of Sahaja Seeds.

An awareness programme on ‘Bamboo Cultivation’ would be held at 2.30 p.m. on Saturday. Zabiulla of Davanagere, who has been actively promoting bamboo farming, would be sharing information on bamboo cultivation and marketing. Participants would also have an opportunity to purchase saplings of the various bamboo varieties brought from Kerala.

At 4 p.m. on Sunday, a seed exchange programme would be held to facilitate interested farmers and urban residents to exchange surplus seeds, tubers, and saplings.

A variety of products, including millets, traditional rice varieties, pulses, cold-pressed oils, naturally grown mangoes and jackfruits, and value-added food products, would be available to visitors.

A women’s collective from Kundagol would introduce residents to a range of flours made from traditional sorghum varieties.

The chairman of the Karnataka Biodiversity Board, Vadnal Jagadish, would inaugurate the festival in the presence of distinguished guests, including Deputy Conservator of Forests M.J. Govardhan Singh and seed conservator Siddanahundi Srinivasamurthy.

The seed festival would remain open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on both days. For more information, contact: Sachin- 9008603222.