Cultivating Traditional Crops

In ancient times, we used to cultivate with ploughs. We used to cultivate black gram, horse gram, green gram, paddy, etc.

— RINA BEHERA · Sundargarh, Odisha

The things we used to cultivate before were black gram, green gram, cowpea, horse gram, etc.

— Batakrushna Sahoo

Our ancestors used to cultivate Bhadi kodra, jowar, pulses, and oilseed crops.

— Kachala Choudhary

Our ancestors were cultivating. They grew urad and moong. The soil gave them a different kind of produce, and they nurtured the seeds for it.

— Mukunda Majhi · Udulibeda, Malkangiri, Odisha

Our ancestors have been cultivating Kodo, Barnyard, Foxtail, Finger millet, Horse gram, and Barley since ancient times, which are very nutritious. We always preserve their seeds and cultivate them every year.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Our fathers and grandfathers used to cultivate traditional crops earlier, fertilizing them with cow dung, and grew pulses like moong, urad, kulthi, along with millets such as ragi and bajra.

— Parikshit Majhi

Previously, we ourselves used to cultivate moong, Didhan Lar Golandi, Mahipal paddy, red paddy, Kalachu paddy, and Sarai paddy.

— Padmini Bhoi

Sawa, Medo, Mijhri are our traditional crops, which our ancestors used to cultivate by plowing with bullocks and a plough. They consumed these crops throughout the year and saved seeds in their homes for the next year's sowing. We still practice farming today.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We used to cultivate various crops extensively. Additionally, I cultivated mustard, moong bean, guava, horse gram, etc. All these seeds are important for my family.

— RINA BEHERA · Sundargarh, Odisha

Our ancestors used to cultivate mung bean, urad, horse gram, ragi, and mustard. At that time, it used to rain, and there were forests.

— Anirudha Marai

Here, we cultivate Sawa, Medon, Mujhri, Kodo, and pulses using the 'Batririri' method. We also store the seeds at home for the following year and then re-sow them in the field; this practice is a legacy from our ancestors.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Previously, we used to cultivate all crops like moong, urad, and kulthi, and we want to continue doing so in the future.

— Jyoti Senapati

The rice crop we cultivate, the valuable horse gram of our family; our ancestors have provided us with green gram, black gram, horse gram, and finger millet.

— Basanti · Nayagarh, Odisha

We save and sow our traditional seeds. Such as chickpea, sorghum, Bhadi, pearl millet, etc.

— Vijay kanesh · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh

We save stable seeds and kuluth seeds are valuable for our family. We have old seeds like millet, kuluth, moong. We sell them and use them as food.

— Basanti · Dashapalla, Nayagarh, Odisha

We cultivate a second crop. The valuable seed of our family is Horse gram. Our ancestors have given us Green gram, Black gram, Horse gram, and Finger millet. We follow the farming methods of our ancestors.

— Basanti · Nayagarh, Odisha

We cultivate seeds such as chickpea, lentil, mustard, and horse gram using traditional, possibly rain-fed, farming methods. We preserve these seeds and cultivate them using this traditional agricultural practice.

— Laxmi Sahu

Our royal forefathers used to cultivate Birahi, Kulut, Mukh, Deshoris, and Badam in their lands. And all these seeds are very important for us.

— RINA BEHERA · Sundargarh, Odisha

We are a tribal community, we farm using ploughs and bullocks, and we sustain our lives. We clear forests and bushes to make fields, and we cultivate sawa, medo, mijhri, and maize, which were grown by our ancestors, and we also preserve their seeds.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Our plows and bullocks till the fields, we sow millet, maize, make furrows, and plant small seeds, and also save seeds for the next year. This is a legacy from our ancestors, which we still have today and which we utilize.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

I cultivate pulse crops without irrigation. We save pulse seeds, among which horse gram, black gram, and pigeon pea are the oldest varieties. We save these seeds for cultivation every year. Our ancestors used to cultivate using manure and traditional ploughs.

— DASHARATH SINGH

We do farming. We save some seeds beforehand and then cultivate. This way, we get many crops, including green gram, black gram, and pigeon pea.

— Ulapi Sahu · Balangir, Odisha

We preserve old seeds for sowing work, which explicitly includes Moong, Kili, and Mustard.

— Vijay Kumar bhardwaj · Baloda Bazar, Chhattisgarh

We have traditional seeds here like Saadia, paddy, pigeon pea, semi-native gourds, Karaiguta, Chipra, etc. We preserve these every year and cultivate them using old traditional methods without irrigation.

— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

Even today, we farm with a plough and oxen and earn our livelihood. Since ancient times, our ancestors have ploughed fields with a plough and oxen, and sow only the seeds preserved at home, such as kurthi, sawa, medo, and mijhri.

— Ram Kumari

We still have traditional seeds like Kodo, Kutki, Maize, Sorghum, Kulthi, Arhar, etc., which we sow using old methods even without irrigation facilities. Even then, our crops ripen.

— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

Our traditional items are finger millet, foxtail millet, proso millet, black gram, paddy, all these are ours. Then there's black gram, pigeon pea, and all these things.

— gobardhan pangi · Upperpur, Malkangiri, Odisha

We have preserved various items such as moong, beans, and gourds from ancient times.

— S Guruteli · Sindhiguda, Malkangiri, Odisha

We have inherited the seeds of Bhaadi, Kodra, Bati, Jowar.

— Kachala Choudhary

We will cultivate pulses using very old traditional methods, so that we can use them in our diet.

— Pushpalata Surtange · Baloda Bazar, Chhattisgarh

Our ancestors used to cultivate pulse crops as a second crop without irrigation, adopting organic methods. I also store black gram and horse gram seeds and cultivate every year using this method.

— Kumudini Chhanchan

The oldest seeds we have. Millet, foxtail millet, horse gram, green gram, lentils.

— Batakrushna Sahoo

In our village, earlier, people used to cultivate fields with ploughs and oxen and worked very hard. At that time, they would sow Kodo, Sawa, Medo, and Mizri, and grow them without fertilizer. They used to sustain themselves with that, from which individuals...

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We preserve the pulse crops that we have received from our ancestors.

— Sunil oraon · Ranchi, Jharkhand

We cultivated rainfed crops like pigeon pea, mung bean, and black gram, and will continue to cultivate and preserve them for the future.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We cultivate paddy, wheat, and pulses in our village and want to preserve this as a heritage.

— bachcha lal · Shahganj, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We have traditional varieties: our native rice, ragi, tuana, jhudunga, palat biri, and our kangu tuana.

— gobardhan pangi · Upperpur, Malkangiri, Odisha

Our ancestors used to cultivate pulses as a second crop using organic methods without irrigation. I also cultivate every year using this method by storing black gram and horse gram seeds.

— Kumudini Chhanchan · Bhojpur, Sambalpur, Odisha

We do farming with ploughs and bullocks, cultivating crops like saawa, medo mijhri, and pulses such as arhar (pigeon pea), urad (black gram), and baturi. Nowadays, government seeds for pulses are also available. We also cultivate crops like chana (chickpea), matar (pea), and masoor (lentil).

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Our ancestors used to cultivate pulses as a second crop without irrigation, adopting organic methods. And I also cultivate every year using this method, by saving black gram and horse gram seeds.

— Kumudini Chhanchan · Bhojpur, Sambalpur, Odisha