Beej Bachao Andolan
Also called: Save the Seeds Movement · Topic: Biodiversity and its Conservation · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 2 "Forest and Wildlife Resources"
Meaning
Beej Bachao Andolan means the "Save the Seeds Movement". Farmers started it in the late 1980s in Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, led by Vijay Jardhari. They collect and save indigenous (native) seeds instead of buying a few high-yielding varieties. This protects agro-biodiversity, which is the variety of crops and their wild relatives. The movement showed that growing many different crops can succeed without synthetic chemicals.
Example
In the hills of Tehri Garhwal, farmers practise barahnaja, which means "twelve grains". In this mixed cropping system, about twelve crops such as millets, pulses and beans are grown together in one field. Saving these seeds keeps many old local varieties alive.
Don't confuse with
- Navdanya: it also saves seeds, but it is a separate organisation that Vandana Shiva founded in 1987. It runs community seed banks across India and promotes organic farming. Beej Bachao Andolan is a farmers' movement that began in Tehri Garhwal.
Related concepts
- Community participation in conservation
- Bhairodev Dakav Sonchuri
- Navdanya
- Bishnoi community
- Sacred grove
- Niyamgiri Hills
- Rights of nature