Vijay Jardhari - Beej Bachao Andolan (BBA)

Vijay Jardhari, a farmer and social activist from Jardhargaon in Uttarakhand, realised how traditional farming techniques were superior to modern interventions in agriculture. The crop yields of the so called high yielding varieties in modern agriculture were actually low and soil fertility was declining, leading to an increasing dependence on toxic chemicals.

Along with other activists of the Chipko movement, Jardhari formed the BBA to promote traditional agriculture and crop varieties.

He began by promoting what to a casual onlooker seemed like a maddening range and variety of crops grown on a small piece of land. But what the farmers did was avoid monocultures. Baranaja promotes diversification of crops that protects against drought and crop failure.

Today BBA has about 150 varieties of paddy from which 100 different varieties can still be grown. Of these, tapachini and jhamcha yield about 72 quintals per hectare. BBA has also collected 170 varieties of rajma. Effective pest control is accomplished by using the leaves of the walnut and neem, and the application of ash and cow urine. The use of traditional farming methods and seeds has resulted in higher yields. Health has improved as people have a balanced diet. Livestock health has improved too, because more fodder is available. At the same time soil fertility and agro-biodiversity have been conserved.