Mysore/Mysuru: Sahaja Samrudha in collaboration with Rebuild India and Sahaja Seeds will be organising Desi Seed Festival on July 5 and 6 from 10 am to 8 pm at Nanjaraja Bahadur Choultry in city. 

The festival aims to bring together seed conservators, farmer scientists, agricultural enthusiasts and consumers from across the State to celebrate the importance of conserving indigenous seed diversity.  This festival is a step towards raising awareness among farmers about the significance of preserving these seeds.

At the two-day Seed Festival, over 100 varieties of desi (native) rice, millets, pulses, tubers, greens and vegetables will be showcased. There will be an exhibition of different groundnut varieties. Various horsegram varieties and value-added products will also be introduced.

Juices made from neglected fruits will be displayed and sold. Rare desi pigeon pea varieties, groundnuts, black and green chickpeas will be available for purchase.

For the upcoming monsoon sowing season, native rice varieties such as Sidda Sanna, Rajamudi, Salem Sanna, Ratnachoodi, Sindhoor Madhusale, Gandha Sale, Dodda Baira, Burma Black, Chinnaponni and HMT will be available, along with Jagaluru ragi and other millets and vegetable seeds.

For children aged between 5 and 12 years, a drawing competition titled “Desi Seeds for the Future” has been organised. Children are expected to illustrate their understanding of seed culture, seed rituals, seed conservation, community seed banks, seed politics and the consequences of hybrid varieties. The drawings must be made at home and brought to the fair by 12.30 pm on Sunday (July 6). Attractive prizes will be awarded to the best drawings.

On Saturday and Sunday, there will also be seed identification competitions for both children and adults. For details contact Manju on Mob: 70900-09944, according to a press release from Krishna Prasad, Director, Sahaja Samrudha.