A round cucumber the size of an apple that tastes like lemon, a purple round eggplant, purple and pink lady fingers, blue groundnuts — these vegetables may sound like they’re straight out of a fictitious book for children but if you talk to retired architect, Dr. Prabhakar Rao, you’ll find that these anomalies are straight out of his very own farm! It may seem strange to find that these vegetables aren’t modified in any way, but 60-year-old Dr. Rao who is part of an organisation called International Seed Savers’ Exchange, says he has spent several years travelling across the world, collecting native indigenous seeds of endangered vegetable species and today boasts of a collection of around 560 varieties of endangered seeds.
You would think seed companies offer a range of seeds to these farmers so consumers can enjoy a vast variety of seeds but that’s not the case. Dr. Rao explains that Indian farmers aren’t to be blamed for this because the business model of seed companies compel farmers to go back to them every season to buy seeds, “Over the past 20 years, there has been a steady decline in the variety of vegetables we eat. This is because the original vegetables were of native indigenous varieties using which farmers could produce their own seeds every season.”
After conducting a series of test on the seeds, Dr. Rao climatically stabilised and grew 142 varieties and started Hariyalee seeds: a family-run farm which curates and sells endangered and heirloom seeds, globally. Unlike other seed companies, a one-time purchase from Hariyalee is enough for you to produce the next generation of seeds on your own, which is highly economical for farmers.
“If a bird or animal is endangered, the whole world focuses on it. But somehow, people don’t even know that so many varieties of vegetables are extinct. Desi indigenous varieties have a huge role to play in our lives. These varieties can handle climate change, are tolerant to drought conditions, and are naturally resistant to diseases and pests. Moreover, they are adaptable to natural farming methods. Instead of taking them and making hybrids and genetically modified organisms, it makes sense for us to go back to cultivating them,” says Dr. Rao.
Dr. Rao seems like nothing short of a pioneer but like most great men, self-doubt is something that he had to deal with. “Somewhere deep inside me, I was not completely sure about what I was doing,” he says. “We did bring green revolution in India, it did help bring food security in the country, but I always used to question if what we are doing is sustainable,” he added.
“When I came back to India, the idea was that I would retire from practice and spend time doing things that I love doing. Multiplying indigenous seeds is not really work for me. It’s my passion. After you finish your professional career, it’s very important to have a passion to keep going. I love to get up in the morning because there is always something happening in the farm. It’s exciting and gives me a lot of enthusiasm to live life,” he concludes.
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