January 10, 2023
By Hiralal Sarote and Naresh Biswas, Baiga community members
Today, the district collector of Dindori, Vikas Mishra, visited the community seed bank in Silpidi village. Managed by the Sawa Salhar Sanghati Beej Bhandar Samiti Silpidi, this is the first community seed bank committee formed by NIRMAN, a partner of our Using Diversity network in the region and has been instrumental in promoting the revival of Bewar, the traditional shifting cultivation-based agricultural practice of the Baiga people, and the variety of traditional crops associated with this practice. This committee was formed in 2018 and comprises 15 women, with Gawalin Bai as the president and Lahari Bai as the secretary.
In 2023 (declared by the UN as International Year of the Millets), efforts to conserve and promote millets are attracting far more attention. Having heard about the efforts to conserve and promote a variety of traditional millets by Baiga community seed bank committees, Vikas Mishra, accompanied by a team of officials from the Agriculture Department, Panchayat Department and Education Department, visited the bank. Media representatives were also present. The collector took a close look at the variety of seeds and panicles, which included mandia (finger millet), salhar (a variety of pearl millet), bajra (pearl millet), kang (foxtail millet), kutki (little millet), and kodo millets.
The community seed bank had been established in a room donated by the family of Lahari Bai. The Collector was particularly impressed by the efforts she has taken towards the management of the seed bank and felt that her efforts need to be recognised and promoted in other areas. Along with Phuljaria Bai, president of the community seed bank committee of Gaura Kanhari village, she was invited to the district collector’s office on January 16, where she was honored with the Star of the Month award! Her photo was also embedded into posters celebrating the Year of the Millets. On Republic Day, Lahari Bai was invited by the collector to the parade in Dindori.
She continues to get considerable press coverage, a welcome recognition for the tireless efforts of Baiga women in bringing back traditional crops from the brink of local extinction and ensuring that the millets, pulses, oilseeds and vegetable crops of their ancestors are once again cultivated on a regular basis by farmers in Baigachak. We hope this recognition helps further strengthen the movement and enable efforts to safeguard traditional seeds and agriculture practices to other parts of the state and country.
They also visited Silpidi’s community forest, where the villagers have planted a variety of trees and plants. The Forest Department representatives promised to provide more saplings and fencing for the community forest.
