Mysore: The three-day Monsoon Seed Festival, jointly organised by NABARD, Sahaja Seeds and Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture, began at Nanjaraja Bahadur Choultry on Vinoba Road here this morning.

The fest (10 am to 7 pm) got off to a start with Joint Director of Agriculture Dr. M. Mahanteshappa pouring Ragi into a bowl and Rajyotsava awardee (2008) organic woman farmer Papamma performing ‘Rashi Puja’.

On the first day today, there will be an exhibition, displaying about 2,000 varieties of rice, millets, vegetables, fruits and forest seeds. On the second day tomorrow, the festival features a workshop on organic seed production and on the third and final day (June 30), there will be a seed swap, facilitating farmers to exchange seeds and to bring spare seeds.