Who cultivates traditional paddy varieties and why? Findings from Kerala, India

Traditional paddy varieties are climate resilient, local stress-tolerant, low-input intensive and valuable sources of genetic diversity that have been under the threat of extinction from rising preferences for high yielding varieties. However, farmers in few pockets of the globe continue to cultivate traditional paddy varieties. This study therefore is an attempt at investigating who cultivates them and why they do so, through the survey of 225 paddy farmers in Wayanad district of Kerala. Results revealed that traditional paddy varieties were grown mainly by marginal and tribal farmers for chief purposes of self-consumption, and for associated traditional values and conservation. Farmers’ varietal selection decisions were found to be influenced by varietal traits related to consumption aspects, consumer demand, pest and disease resistance. Therefore, by cultivating traditional paddy varieties, farmers have been conserving these valuable genetic resources on-farm. However, stronger concerted institutional interventions are required for full-fledged, systematic and sustained in situ conservation of agricultural biodiversity