From mountains to markets: the return of indigenous seeds to Andhra Pradesh

The morning begins peacefully in Gasaba village, located in the highlands of the Eastern Ghats in Peda Bayalu mandal of Alluri Sitarama Raju district of Andhra Pradesh. On the winding road of the ghat, sunlight filters through the patches of trees and reaches the two-acre area at the edge of the village.

Bujjamma bends over a row of green leafy vegetables and sorts out the plants set aside for seeds. Her saree is tied high for ease of movement. The metallic earrings and nose ring sparkle on her face as she works. She is one of the village’s seed savers, growing, inspecting and selecting native seeds for distribution. A short distance away is his modest home, a red-tiled structure with mud-plastered walls, where packets of heirloom seeds are kept with care.

Nearby, another farmer works a patch of gourds, picking out gourds that will be left to fully ripen. Standing between them is a farmer-researcher, notebook in hand, observing and sometimes even giving inputs. This patch serves as a block seed multiplication site, where native seed varieties are regenerated before being distributed to 18 surrounding villages.

The crops here do not follow uniformity. Gourd vines run across the supports. Tomato plants produce fruits of uneven size and color. Millet stands alongside chilli, potatoes and local vegetables. Each variety holds a history shaped through seasons of selection. These are crops that have adapted to the terrain and rainfall of the mountains, providing a measure of flexibility that commercial hybrids often fail to match.

The work is part of a larger effort led by the Sanjeevini Rural Development Society, which, since the early 2000s, has worked with farmers in villages like Kiloguda and Suva to revive indigenous seeds through natural farming. What appears stable today once faced resistance.

“When I proposed saving native seeds and banning hybrid seeds, people thought I was a madman talking about seeds,” says P Devullu of Sanjeevani Rural Development Society. Over time, he says, farmers began to see changes in soil health, input costs and long-term benefits of heirloom varieties.

Change took shape through demonstration. Plots like Gasaba allowed farmers to see how native varieties performed across all seasons. Older farmers, often over 70 years of age, were involved in identifying seeds and guiding selection through their experience and traditional practice rather than formal training.

By 2001, this effort had grown into a seed bank called the Soil and Seed Information Center in Kiloguda, which started with about 45 varieties. Today, it has more than 360 varieties of millets, pulses, vegetables and tubers. A committee of experienced farmers oversees the selection and distribution from farms in different regions, ensuring that only indigenous seeds are preserved.

Each April, this work expands to the annual Seed Festival, now in its 17th year. Farmers bring seeds in bundles of cloth or in bowls of leaves, exchanging varieties and knowledge. About 74 identified seed savers now contribute regularly, while the wider network, through the Dhimsa Farmer Producer Organisation, connects about 5,000 farmers across 90 villages in Andhra Pradesh.

“For us, indigenous varieties are not just old seeds,” says Devullu. “They are seeds that have evolved in this soil, adapted to the climate here and have been with our people for generations.” From these hill slopes, the produce moves to the plains, reaching the Rythu markets of Visakhapatnam twice a week.

information Centre

At Kiloguda, the Soil and Seed Information Center serves as a repository and meeting point. The shelves are stocked with carefully labeled seeds, of which millet forms a significant section. Farmers come to exchange seeds or seek advice, while researchers from different states study the models.

The Kiloguda center has recently started a millet processing unit and plans are underway to add a farm-to-fork setup. Sanjeevini team is also getting support from Rythu Sadhikara Sanstha and APCNF (Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming) project under the Department of Agriculture, Government of Andhra Pradesh to expand to other tribal areas.

The ecological impact has become visible over time. Indigenous varieties have shown resilience under irregular rainfall and climate change patterns, while improving soil health with less chemical use. natural inputs like jeevamritamFermented mixtures of cow dung, urine and other ingredients have replaced commercial alternatives. The economic results have resulted in lower input costs and greater stability in returns.

national recognition

Recognition came in the year 2011-12, when Sanjeevini received the Plant Genome Savior Community Award from the Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Protection Authority under the Union Ministry of Agriculture. The award recognized its work in conservation of local crop diversity in millets, pulses, cereals and vegetables. Devullu achieved this along with team members Sagari Venkata Narayana Murthy, Pangi Sunkari, Korra Pandan and P Ammaji. For women farmers like Pangi Sunkri, this journey was their first flight to Delhi as well as their first national recognition.

Still, the work rests on everyday practice. In Gasaba, Bujjamma roams the fields, selecting chilli plants for seeds. Here the knowledge lies in the practice of which seeds are selected and what is kept aside. Devullu has seen a transformation in recent years. “People are beginning to understand what they are eating,” he says. This awareness has created a modest demand for products grown from indigenous seeds.

Challenges remain. Young farmers often move away from farming. Markets for diverse produce are still limited. And there is a need for continued attention to seed conservation. Nevertheless, the network continues to expand. The annual Seed Festival helps to strengthen this. It has become an important event in the annual calendar and a point of pride for farmers, who compete for the top three awards for seed quality and variety.

As the day progresses, seed selection work continues in the gasaba. It is part of a cycle that has taken shape over two decades, put together by farmers who have chosen to retain control over their seeds as well as their farming practices.