Lok Sabha Question No. 4266 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-19
Subject: National Policy to Promote GIAHS Sites in India
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Shri Kodikunnil Suresh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  4266

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 19 TH  AUGUST, 2025

## NATIONAL POLICY TO PROMOTE GIAHS SITES IN INDIA

4266.  SHRI KODIKUNNIL SURESH:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष एवं ͩकसान कãयाण मंğी be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware that India has only a few sites designated under the FAO's Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) programme, despite its rich traditional agricultural diversity; (b) whether the Government has taken steps to leverage the development, conservation,  and  branding  potential  of  GIAHS,  especially  in  culturally  significant  regions like Kuttanad, Koraput, and Kashmir; (c) whether any comparative assessments have been made of countries like China that have successfully integrated GIAHS into rural development and eco-tourism policies; (d) if so, the reasons for not adopting similar frameworks or incentives; and (e) whether the Government proposes to formulate a dedicated national action plan or policy to support and promote GIAHS sites as part of India's sustainable development and

- agrobiodiversity conservation strategies?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष एवं ͩकसान कãयाण राÏय मंğी (SHRI  RAMNATH THAKUR) (a) & (b): As  informed  by  Food  and  Agriculture  Organization  (FAO),  India  currently hosts three Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS): the Koraput region in Odisha, the Kuttanad farming system in Kerala, and the Saffron Heritage of Kashmir. The Koraput region is renowned for its subsistence paddy cultivation, predominantly on highland slopes, and is home to a vast diversity of paddy landraces and farmer-developed varieties.

It  also  harbors  rich  genetic  resources  of  medicinal  plants,  deeply  interwoven  with  the indigenous  tribal  communities  and  their  traditional  knowledge  systems.  The  Kuttanad system in  Kerala  stands  out  as  a  unique  below-sea-level  farming  landscape,  comprising wetlands for paddy cultivation and fish catching, garden lands for coconut and food crops, and  inland  water  bodies  for  fishing  and  shell  collection.  Meanwhile,  the  Saffron  Park  of Kashmir  represents  a  rich agro-pastoral  system  characterized by traditional saffron cultivation, intercropping, and the use of organic farming practices, all of which contribute to maintaining local biodiversity and soil health. (c) & (d): No such assessments have been made. (e): GIAHS is an FAO programme. Schemes and policies of Government of India support these sites. As reported by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, for economic revival of saffron cultivation in Jammu and Kashmir has been supported under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH). Government of Odisha reported that proactive steps have been taken on conserving its  biodiversity,  preserving  landraces  of  different  crops  and  branding  in  Koraput.  The programme  also  incorporates  community  seed  banks  and  organic  farming  methods, focussing on revival of neglected crops and forgotten foods.

As  reported  by  the  Government  of  Kerala,  two  works  for  the  development  of infrastructure  in  the  paddy  sector  in  the  Kuttanad  region  are  included  under  the  current year's RKVY-DPR projects. These include: (i) 'Haritam Harippad'-infrastructural development  works  of  various  Padasekharams  in  Alappuzha  District.  (ii)  Assistance  to Research on 'Ecological Utilization of Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) in Kuttanad'.

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