Sanjeevini Old Seeds Festival on April 28, 29 in Araku
Visakhapatnam: Elaborate arrangements have been made for the successful conduct of the 17th annual 'Old Seeds Festival,' dedicated to the preservation of heirloom seeds, tribal heritage, and natural farming practices. The two-day festival hosted by Sanjeevini Environment Protection Society (SEPS) will be held on April 28 and 29 at Killoguda village, near Araku Valley in the Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district.
This year's celebrations are being organised in partnership with several prominent institutions promoting sustainable agriculture, including the AP Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS), Keystone Foundation, WASSAN, SAVE NGO, and Bharat Beej Swaraj Manch. Organisers have announced that this edition will be significantly larger than previous years, featuring more than 150 stalls dedicated to agricultural biodiversity and tribal traditions.
The festival will showcase a variety of indigenous rice seeds, millets'including finger millet, little millet, and foxtail millet'wild tubers, and traditional farming tools. Farmers and seed conservators from Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Maharashtra are expected to participate, making it a major national platform for seed exchange.
A key attraction will be a procession led by tribal women, who will carry traditional seeds stored in beautifully painted earthen pots and bamboo baskets. Tribal farmers from the Odisha and Andhra Agency regions will engage in seed exchange activities, aimed at strengthening indigenous agricultural practices.
It will be ann opportunity for people to experience nutritious tribal delicacies prepared from millets and wild leafy greens. The festival will also feature traditional Dhimsa dance performances and other tribal art forms, emphasizing the deep link between culture and ecology.
As part of the event, natural farmers and individuals dedicated to preserving indigenous varieties will be honoured with the 'Seed Savior Award ' 2026' for their contributions to biodiversity.
The Sanjeevini Environment Protection Society has earned both national and state-level accolades, including the Plant Genome Savior Community Award from the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Bio-Conserver Award by AP State Biodiversity Board.
Sanjeevini Director Pachari Devullu said the festival aims to create awareness about the importance of indigenous seeds in the face of climate change. "Traditional seed varieties produce healthier crops and possess greater resilience to environmental shifts compared to hybrids. Our goal is to ensure long-term agricultural sustainability and prevent soil degradation caused by chemical farming," he said.
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