Dharmagarh: A farmer here in Kalahandi district has created a record of sorts by cultivating over 816 varieties of traditional paddy on one acre, a report said Wednesday.
Manas Ranjan Sahu is a resident of Dharmagarh town. He has done this wonder on his farmland at Basul village about five-km from the town.
This is no mean achievement of Sahu when farmers influenced by modern agricultural practices have taken up high yield variety paddy instead of traditional paddy cultivation. However, Sahu instead of getting carried away by hybrid paddy is working towards conservation of traditional and indigenous paddy varieties.
His only aim is to conserve the traditional and indigenous varieties of paddy seeds for future generations for which he has become an example for others to emulate. This has come at a time when farmers all over the state commit suicide and turn away from cultivation due to crop loss, debt burden and a host of other reasons.
Sources said Sahu after being attracted to farming in 2012 decided to live a life of a farmer and started paddy cultivation on his one acre by cultivating 62 varieties of traditional paddy. His efforts brought him success and further inspired him to take up new ventures.
Not one to rest on his laurels, he cultivated 286 varieties of traditional paddy the next year and 399 varieties in 2014. He went on reaping success when farmers in other parts of the state were turning away from agriculture.
He has cultivated black rice varieties like Kalabati, Kalabhata, Kala Malliphula , Brahma Kala, three varieties of green rice and 80 varieties of red rice. This apart, he has also cultivated Puta Bhata, Larjan Super, Kala Sula, Lal Sula which have medicinal and therapeutic values.
Similarly, he has also cultivated aromatic rice varieties like Kala Jeera, Bani Bhoga and Kala Krushna. He has also cultivated two types of rice called Dhana Beni Bhai cultivated from a single seed and three types of rice cultivated from Triveni variety of seed.
He has collected the paddy seeds by visiting various districts in the state as well as Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka and Assam. Sahu, while carrying out cultivation, also conducts research on the yield of the paddy seeds, their immunity to pest attack, diseases and the effect of climatic conditions on their growth.
When contacted, Sahu said farmers in quest for more yield from hybrid paddy seeds use chemical fertilizers which is affecting our health and environment. The hybrid paddy cultivation is also destroying the food value of the harvested paddy which is generally present in the traditional rice varieties. This apart, the use of chemical fertilizers also destroys the fertility of soil and leads to air and water pollution, he added.
PNN
