Sustainable Local Farming

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

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

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

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

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

Before, all of us tribals used to plow the fields with a plow and bullocks. We would sow medo mujri and also kurthi, which was very nutritious food. It was sown without fertilizer and would grow readily.

— Babulal Ayam · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Our ancestors used to cultivate millet without mixing any chemical pesticides; they used cow dung as fertilizer. And those foods were very good.

— Sastensh khura

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

— Anirudha Marai

People of the past used to cultivate saawa, kodo, menjhari, bajra, and maize, and their bodies were strong. But today, by eating grains grown with fertilizer...

— Kamleah Kumar · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

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

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

— Padmini Bhoi

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

Previously, our ancestors used to farm with cow dung, and now urea and DAP have become common. The crops are growing well, but it's having a big impact on the body.

— Kamleah Kumar · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We used to farm using cow dung and goat manure; this was the fertilizer for the crops, and all crops like Kodo, Menjhari, Barley, and Saawa were grown with this agricultural fertilizer.

— Kamleah Kumar · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

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

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

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

Grain used to grow without fertilizer. Use cow dung for farming in the fields; that's where paddy, maize, and all crops grow. Eating all that grain keeps the body strong and vital. Nowadays, even though there is more crop yield, the body becomes weak.

— Kamleah Kumar · Ammatola, Sonbhadra, Uttar 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

In ancient times, in previous eras, people collected nutritious foods like ragi, millet, etc., from the forest, ate them to stay healthy and strong, and lived for a long time. If farmers or tribal community people cultivate those essential crops of those ancient times again, it will guide them towards the development of their life's values in the future.

— Dillip pujari · Phiringia, Kandhamal, Odisha

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

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

From the time of our ancestors, they used to cultivate with a plow. Immediately after paddy cultivation, they would grow mustard, groundnuts, horse gram, black gram, and green gram. Our subsequent generations have forgotten this practice.

— RINA BEHERA · Sundargarh, 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

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

— Jyoti Senapati

I am a farmer. Our father, grandfather, and uncles used to cultivate using traditional methods. They used to farm without fertilizer and without chemicals. And that farming was good for crops like horse gram and ragi.

— Parikshit Majhi

The oldest seeds like Kodo, Mejdri, Sawa, Maize, Bajra, all these crops were cultivated with agricultural fertilizer.

— Kamleah Kumar · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

In ancient times, our Aamli, Kuri, Vati, and Mal, the wood visible in this forest used to be cut, and then crops were sown, and that was...

— Mohan AHARI · Dabaycha, Udaipur, Rajasthan

People of earlier times used to do this kind of farming for subsistence, and without water, without chemical fertilizers, and by eating that grain, there was also strength in the body. But nowadays, this urea and DAP fertilizer is causing a lot of harm.

— Kamleah Kumar · Kota, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

In our area, people used to build palaces, then they would cultivate Kudamodia (a type of rice or crop) and eat it, and we would also eat it, and all of us villagers too.

— Laxmi Bagh · Sundargarh, Odisha

Traditional agriculture

— Common Ground · Phiringia, Kandhamal, Odisha

Traditional agriculture

— KRUSHNA KHILLO · Semiliguda, Koraput, Odisha

Here, our ancestors used to cultivate sava, medon, mijhari, and kodo, whose rice and bread were eaten. Today, they are slowly disappearing. Therefore, we should preserve them so that they remain a part of our lives forever. These are very nutritious and powerful food items.

— Ram Kumari

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

Traditional farming, meaning Yudung, Pandala, Janana, maize, finger millet, and so on.

— James

In our area, in very old times, there were Sama, Kodo, Meijri (types of millets) for eating. Diseases were not caused by this. Today, whatever is being eaten as hybrid, all this is on the verge of causing diseases.

— ANIL KUMAR · 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

Before, we used to cultivate crops without water: bajra, maize, kodo, mezhri, and arhar (pigeon pea).

— Kamleah Kumar · Ormaura, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh