Lok Sabha Question No. 562 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-02-06
Subject: Preservation of Traditional Seeds
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: BHARAT SINGH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH & EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 562 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06/02/2018

## PRESERVATION OF TRADITIONAL SEEDS

## 562. SHRI BHARAT SINGH:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE d`f"k vkSj fdlku dY;k.k ea=h be pleased to state:

(a) whether  the  Government  is  considering  to  launch  a  scheme  to  promote  and preserve  the  varieties  of  traditional  seeds/crops  in  the  country  and  if  so,  the  details thereof;

(b) whether  the  farmers  are  being  made  aware  about  dealing  with  the  challenge  of climate change by preserving traditional crops and if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the Government has set any targets for storage of traditional varieties of crops; and

(d) if so, the details thereof?

## A N S W E R

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE d`f'k vkSj fdlku dY;k.k ea=ky; esa jkT; ea=h

## (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)

(a) ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi is the nodal institute at national level for collection, characterization, evaluation, preservation/ conservation  and  exchange  of  plant  genetic  resources.  Indigenous/  traditional  varieties conserved at NBPGR are multiplied as per the viability aspects of the seeds and seeds of these  varieties  are  shared  with  scientists  on  request  for  promotion  and  their  use  in breeding programmes. In this context, ICAR-NBPGR  has  already  collected and conserved  seeds  of 76799 traditional  varieties/  landraces  of  different  agri-horticultural crops  ( Table-1 ).  This  activity  is  being  regularly  carried-out  based  on  the  gaps  in conservation.

Further,  to  encourage  the  farmers,  Protection  of  Plant  Varieties  and  Farmers' Rights Authority (PPV&FRA), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, GOI confers 35 awards annually amounting to 85 Lakhs to farmers and farming communities who are involved in the conservation of plant genetic resources of land races and wild relatives of different crops.

(b) Farmers  are  made  aware  about  the  impending  challenges  of  climate  change  by way  of  the  capacity  building  programmes  being  taken  up  as  part  of  the  Technology Demonstration Component  (TDC)  of ' National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture '  (NICRA).  TDC  is  being  implemented  across  151  climatically  vulnerable districts across the country. Under TDC, context- and location-specific climate resilient practices  and  technologies  are  demonstrated  in  farmers'  participatory  mode  to  address current climatic variability faced in one cluster of villages in each district. Some of the traditional crops, such as millets play an important role towards nutritional security and also  in  adapting  to  climate  change.  As  such  these  crops  are  also  part  of  the  Training programs  on  various  aspects  of  climate  change,  the  causes,  the  impacts,  the  options available in addressing the climate change. Millet based systems were promoted where millets are the traditional crops of the region. For example, the Setaria based system in Kurnool and Anantapur districts of Andhra Pradesh, the sorghum based system in Pune, Jalna and Aurangabad districts of Maharashtra, the finger millet based system in Tumkur district  of  Karnataka  as  part  of  the  TDC  of  NICRA.  Emphasis  has  been  given  in preserving  the  traditional  crops  of  the  region  and  enhancing  the  productivity  of  these crops by way of various management practices.

Further, awareness on importance of cultivation of traditional varieties/landraces to  deal  with  climate  change  is  created  regularly  among  the  farmers  through  the meetings/awareness programmes organizing under the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) and Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav (MGMG) schemes.

(c) & (d): Being  the  nodal  institute,  ICAR-NBPGR  has  conserved  approximately 76799 accessions  of traditional  varieties/  landraces  of  different  crops  in  the  National Genebank (NGB) for long-term storage ( Table-1 ).

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## Table-1

## [Part (a) and (c) & (d) of Lok Sabha USQ No. 562 for 06/02/2018]

## Crop group-wise Traditional varieties/Landraces conserved in National Genebank

| Crop Groups         |   No. of Accessions Conserved |
|---------------------|-------------------------------|
| Cereals             |                         17927 |
| Millets             |                         15976 |
| Grain Legumes       |                         10272 |
| Oilseeds            |                         21250 |
| Forages             |                          1413 |
| Fibre crops         |                           258 |
| Vegetables          |                          6032 |
| Pseudo-cereals      |                          1475 |
| Medicinal &aromatic |                           882 |
| Spices              |                           946 |
| Ornamentals         |                            17 |
| Fruits &Nuts        |                             8 |
| Agro-forestry       |                           343 |
| Total               |                         76799 |

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