Hyderabad (MediaBoss Network): As part of its flagship TDF JaiKisan initiative, the Telangana Development Forum (TDF) India successfully organized a Native Seed Campaign and established a Community Seed Bank Stall at the South India CSR Summit held at the Global Peace Auditorium, Gachibowli, Hyderabad, in collaboration with Bidakanne Women Farmers Producer Company Limited.
The initiative aimed to raise awareness on the urgent need to conserve and revive India’s native indigenous seeds under the campaign theme:
“Plant the Past to Protect the Future by Sowing Wealth and Harvesting Health.”
The stall attracted CSR leaders, corporate representatives, government officials, NGOs, agriculture experts, farmer producer organizations, and visitors who explored a diverse collection of indigenous vegetable and crop seeds and learned about community-led seed conservation models.
Speaking on the occasion, TDF India President Sri Matta Rajeshwar Reddy said that TDF JaiKisan is committed to restoring agricultural biodiversity by conserving, multiplying, and freely distributing indigenous seeds across farming communities.
“Our mission is to conserve, multiply, and freely distribute indigenous vegetable and crop seeds while promoting traditional farming practices that improve farmer income, soil health, environmental sustainability, and public health. Native seeds are our agricultural heritage, and protecting them today is essential for ensuring food security and ecological sustainability for future generations.”
He further emphasized that community participation, farmer networks, and CSR partnerships will play a vital role in building a sustainable seed conservation movement across Telangana and other states.
Addressing the gathering, TDF JaiKisan Chairman Sri Pati Narender Reddy highlighted the challenges posed by modern agricultural practices.
“Modern agriculture has increasingly shifted toward commercial seed varieties that require intensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This has resulted in the loss of indigenous seed diversity, rising cultivation costs, declining soil fertility, increased dependence on external agricultural inputs, reduced nutritional quality of food, and lower resilience to climate variability and pests.”
He explained that native seeds provide a sustainable solution because they are naturally adapted to local climatic conditions, require fewer external inputs, preserve traditional agricultural knowledge, and contribute to healthier soils and nutritious food systems.
Sri Pati Narender Reddy also announced that TDF JaiKisan is planning to establish a sustainable Community Seed Bank network based on a Hub-and-Spoke model, where central seed conservation hubs will support village-level community seed banks. The initiative will encourage farmers to conserve, exchange, multiply, and freely distribute indigenous seeds while strengthening climate-resilient agriculture and protecting Telangana’s rich agricultural biodiversity.
