Seed Saving in Gangwar

Today a small group of us were able to do a field visit to Gangwar village (about 2 hours from Hyderabad) with The Deccan Development Society (DDS), a local NGO which works on food sovereignty issues. I'm very interested in food systems, so the trip was one of the highlights of the FSP for me! In an ever-globalizing world, food sovereignty has become a major issue for Indian farmers, many of whom have found themselves indebted to companies like Monsanto. As part of the visit we were able to meet Anjamma Nadimidoddi (pictured below), who runs the village's seed bank. DDS helped start the seed bank to preserve the variety of indigenous crops planted and allow farmers maintain to their independence from multi-national corporations.

Anjamma with her seeds

 

The seed bank, with 50+ seed varieties

L to R: Amy, Sarah, Anjamma, Meg and Anna

-Sarah '12