Guarding Seeds, Guarding Sovereignty: Rajendra Singh's Call to Preserve India’s Native Legacy

Rajendra Singh, a noted environmentalist, emphasizes the importance of preserving India's native seeds for agricultural sustainability and food sovereignty, instead of choosing genetically modified varieties. Critiquing GM crops for being disease-prone, he advocates organic farming to restore native seeds' resilience and sync crop patterns with rainfall.

Renowned environmentalist Rajendra Singh has called for urgent action to protect India's native seeds, suggesting this as indispensable to ensuring the country's agricultural sustainability and food sovereignty. He criticized the reliance on genetically modified (GM) crops, citing their disease susceptibility compared to locally developed seeds.

Singh, recognized as the 'waterman of India' and recently appointed as professor at Anant National University, underlined the need for India to revert to its indigenous gene pools. He stressed that organic farming could revive these seeds' resilience within five years amidst current pollution challenges.

Highlighting groundwater overuse and improper crop patterns influenced by market demands, Singh advocated for a national shift towards practices aligned with ecological conditions. Anant University aims to map and preserve India's indigenous knowledge systems to support this transition.

(With inputs from agencies.)