Crop Genetic Diversity
Conserving traditional landraces, establishing village seed saver groups, cataloguing farmer varieties under PPV&FRA, and connecting conservation with nutritional security and rural livelihoods across Maharashtra.
Landraces, Community Seed Banks and Seed Savers
Six grassroots organisations collaborated across 248 villages focusing on 18 priority crop categories — spanning rice, minor millets (finger millet, foxtail, barnyard), pulses (hyacinth bean, pigeon pea), oilseeds, tubers, and vegetables. Farmers characterised local crop germplasm, preserved climatic-resilient landraces, and operationalised community-managed seed banks.
Farmers reached & mobilized
Accessions conserved in situ
Landraces registered under PPV&FRA
Active village seed saver groups
Target Crops & Landrace Documentation
Systematic participatory morphological characterisation was conducted for native rice strains (e.g., Ambemohar, Ghosale, Kolpi), drought-tolerant millets, local chillies, and climate-hardy legumes.
- 533 accessions formally catalogued with detailed descriptor sheets.
- 74 unique accessions submitted for national repositories with NBPGR.
- 5,000 indigenous kitchen garden kits produced and distributed to women farmers.
Linking Conservation to Nutrition & Income
Conservation was closely tied to livelihood sustainability through value-added products and direct market access for native grain varieties.
- Production and sale of finger millet, mahua, and sorghum health biscuits.
- Establishment of decentralised seed banks ensuring drought fallback seeds.
- Community seed exhibitions (Biyane Jatra) connecting remote agro-pastoralists.
Implementing Partners (Phase 1): BAIF Development Research Foundation • Gramin Yuva Pragati Mandal (GYPM) • Institute of Integrated Rural Development (IIRD) • Sanskruti Samvardhan Mandal (SSM) • Sheti Pariwar Kalyan Sanstha • Lokpanchayat
Statewide Landrace Repository & Farmer Rights Scaling
Building on the verified findings of Phase 1, Phase 2 focuses on scaling participatory plant breeding, expanding the central RDBMS seed repository, securing farmers' rights and benefit sharing under PPV&FRA, and embedding indigenous crop conservation into government crop-procurement and nutritional welfare schemes.
Nutritional Profiling
Laboratory biochemical screening of micronutrient density (iron, zinc, low-GI starches) in native rice and millet landraces.
Farmer Seed Producer Companies
Structuring community seed saver groups into formal Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) for certified organic traditional seeds.
Digital Seed Ledger
Integration with the Maharashtra Gene Bank central database for transparent tracking of germplasm ownership and exchange.
Coordination & Scientific Oversight: Rajiv Gandhi Science & Technology Commission • IISER Pune Coordination Cell • State Agricultural Universities & Partner FPOs