Traditional Seed Festival Celebrated With Fervour in Araku

Visakhapatnam : The 17th Annual Traditional Seed Festival brought Killoguda village in the Araku region of Alluri Sitarama Raju district alive with colourful celebrations on Tuesday.Organised by Sanjeevini, the festival promoted natural farming and conservation of indigenous seeds. Tribal farmers and representatives of voluntary organisations from Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Tamil Nadu took part in the event.Farmers from the Nilgiris, Koraput, Araku and Rampachodavaram displayed traditional seeds at stalls that drew considerable attention. The celebrations began with a colourful procession through Killoguda village, where residents carried carefully preserved seeds, accompanied by traditional drum beats and the lively Dhimsa dance.A major attraction was the display of 80 varieties of tuber seeds by villagers from Gondivalasa in Dumbriguda mandal, which generated keen interest among visitors.Rythu Sadhikara Samstha executive director T. Baburao Naidu visited the stalls and interacted with farmers. In a competition held as part of the festival, Sukri of Gondivalasa village, Manikanta from Tamil Nadu and Pratik Mori from Maharashtra were declared winners and felicitated by the organisers.At a meeting presided over by Pachari Devullu, representatives and experts praised Sanjeevini’s efforts over the past 17 years in conserving indigenous seeds. They stressed the need for government recognition and support for organic farming clusters in the Araku region, citing their importance for food security and ecological balance.Environmental activists, scientists, local representatives and several others also participated in the programme.Photo captions: 28Vzdc11: Tribal folk take out a procession to mark the inaugural session of Sanjeevini’s 17th Annual Traditional Seed Festival at Killoguda village, near Araku Valley in the ASR district on Tuesday. (Photo by Arrangement)



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