Traditional Millet Farming

In ancient times, we used to cultivate with ploughs. We used to cultivate black gram, horse gram, green gram, paddy, etc.

— RINA BEHERA · Sundargarh, Odisha

Sawa, Medo, Mijhri are our traditional crops, which our ancestors used to cultivate by plowing with bullocks and a plough. They consumed these crops throughout the year and saved seeds in their homes for the next year's sowing. We still practice farming today.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Traditional farming, meaning Yudung, Pandala, Janana, maize, finger millet, and so on.

— James

Our fathers and grandfathers used to cultivate traditional crops earlier, fertilizing them with cow dung, and grew pulses like moong, urad, kulthi, along with millets such as ragi and bajra.

— Parikshit Majhi

The things we used to cultivate before were black gram, green gram, cowpea, horse gram, etc.

— Batakrushna Sahoo

Our ancestors used to cultivate Bhadi kodra, jowar, pulses, and oilseed crops.

— Kachala Choudhary

Our ancestors have been cultivating Kodo, Barnyard, Foxtail, Finger millet, Horse gram, and Barley since ancient times, which are very nutritious. We always preserve their seeds and cultivate them every year.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We are a tribal community, we farm using ploughs and bullocks, and we sustain our lives. We clear forests and bushes to make fields, and we cultivate sawa, medo, mijhri, and maize, which were grown by our ancestors, and we also preserve their seeds.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We cultivate seeds such as chickpea, lentil, mustard, and horse gram using traditional, possibly rain-fed, farming methods. We preserve these seeds and cultivate them using this traditional agricultural practice.

— Laxmi Sahu

I am a farmer. Our father, grandfather, and uncles used to cultivate using traditional methods. They used to farm without fertilizer and without chemicals. And that farming was good for crops like horse gram and ragi.

— Parikshit Majhi

Old traditional farming includes Kodo, Menjri, and Sawan, which have been cultivated according to age-old traditions. Protect your crops.

— bachcha lal · Ormaura, Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

I cultivate pulse crops without irrigation. We save pulse seeds, among which horse gram, black gram, and pigeon pea are the oldest varieties. We save these seeds for cultivation every year. Our ancestors used to cultivate using manure and traditional ploughs.

— DASHARATH SINGH

We save and sow our traditional seeds. Such as chickpea, sorghum, Bhadi, pearl millet, etc.

— Vijay kanesh · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh

Here, we cultivate Sawa, Medon, Mujhri, Kodo, and pulses using the 'Batririri' method. We also store the seeds at home for the following year and then re-sow them in the field; this practice is a legacy from our ancestors.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Even today, we farm with a plough and oxen and earn our livelihood. Since ancient times, our ancestors have ploughed fields with a plough and oxen, and sow only the seeds preserved at home, such as kurthi, sawa, medo, and mijhri.

— Ram Kumari

We still have traditional seeds like Kodo, Kutki, Maize, Sorghum, Kulthi, Arhar, etc., which we sow using old methods even without irrigation facilities. Even then, our crops ripen.

— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

We do farming with ploughs and bullocks, cultivating crops like saawa, medo mijhri, and pulses such as arhar (pigeon pea), urad (black gram), and baturi. Nowadays, government seeds for pulses are also available. We also cultivate crops like chana (chickpea), matar (pea), and masoor (lentil).

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Previously, we ourselves used to cultivate moong, Didhan Lar Golandi, Mahipal paddy, red paddy, Kalachu paddy, and Sarai paddy.

— Padmini Bhoi

We have traditional varieties: our native rice, ragi, tuana, jhudunga, palat biri, and our kangu tuana.

— gobardhan pangi · Upperpur, Malkangiri, Odisha

We do traditional farming. We save rain-fed seeds and cultivate crops like sorghum and chickpea.

— Vijay kanesh · Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh

Our traditional items are finger millet, foxtail millet, proso millet, black gram, paddy, all these are ours. Then there's black gram, pigeon pea, and all these things.

— gobardhan pangi · Upperpur, Malkangiri, Odisha

Was traditional farming in the past better or is modern farming better now? Traditional farming in the past was better. What all did they cultivate? Ragi, black gram, horse gram, foxtail millet.

— Sastensh khura

We cultivate a second crop. The valuable seed of our family is Horse gram. Our ancestors have given us Green gram, Black gram, Horse gram, and Finger millet. We follow the farming methods of our ancestors.

— Basanti · Nayagarh, Odisha

Our plows and bullocks till the fields, we sow millet, maize, make furrows, and plant small seeds, and also save seeds for the next year. This is a legacy from our ancestors, which we still have today and which we utilize.

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

Our ancestors were cultivating. They grew urad and moong. The soil gave them a different kind of produce, and they nurtured the seeds for it.

— Mukunda Majhi · Udulibeda, Malkangiri, Odisha

The rice crop we cultivate, the valuable horse gram of our family; our ancestors have provided us with green gram, black gram, horse gram, and finger millet.

— Basanti · Nayagarh, Odisha

Before, all of us tribals used to plow the fields with a plow and bullocks. We would sow medo mujri and also kurthi, which was very nutritious food. It was sown without fertilizer and would grow readily.

— Babulal Ayam · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We used to cultivate various crops extensively. Additionally, I cultivated mustard, moong bean, guava, horse gram, etc. All these seeds are important for my family.

— RINA BEHERA · Sundargarh, Odisha

We have traditional seeds here like Saadia, paddy, pigeon pea, semi-native gourds, Karaiguta, Chipra, etc. We preserve these every year and cultivate them using old traditional methods without irrigation.

— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

Traditional agriculture

— Common Ground · Phiringia, Kandhamal, Odisha

Traditional agriculture

— KRUSHNA KHILLO · Semiliguda, Koraput, Odisha

In our village, earlier, people used to cultivate fields with ploughs and oxen and worked very hard. At that time, they would sow Kodo, Sawa, Medo, and Mizri, and grow them without fertilizer. They used to sustain themselves with that, from which individuals...

— Ram Kumari · Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh

We do farming. We save some seeds beforehand and then cultivate. This way, we get many crops, including green gram, black gram, and pigeon pea.

— Ulapi Sahu · Balangir, Odisha

We plant our traditional seeds like paddy, gram, pigeon pea, green gram, black gram, etc., in which we do not use pesticides.

— RAJNIKANT RATNAKAR

Our ancestors used to cultivate millet without mixing any chemical pesticides; they used cow dung as fertilizer. And those foods were very good.

— Sastensh khura

The traditional dishes are our corn, moong, black gram, horse gram, and our moong, and jana, etc. All these.

— S Guruteli · Upperpur, Malkangiri, Odisha

Previously, we used to cultivate all crops like moong, urad, and kulthi, and we want to continue doing so in the future.

— Jyoti Senapati

Our ancestors used to cultivate mung bean, urad, horse gram, ragi, and mustard. At that time, it used to rain, and there were forests.

— Anirudha Marai

Here, we grow varieties of crops like paddy, black gram, pigeon pea, Kodo millet, Little millet, Barnyard millet, and others.

— Ram Maravi · Dindori, Madhya Pradesh

We save stable seeds and kuluth seeds are valuable for our family. We have old seeds like millet, kuluth, moong. We sell them and use them as food.

— Basanti · Dashapalla, Nayagarh, Odisha