Background

The fertile and varied landscape of the Indian Subcontinent has long been conducive to a diverse range of indigenous fruits, which have been cultivated through generations of traditional knowledge and sustainable practices. However, India has witnessed numerous changes in its agricultural landscape over the past few decades, particularly since the adoption of the High Yielding Varieties introduced during the Green Revolution. This focus on modern food production and industrialised agriculture has resulted in the neglect or abandonment of traditional varieties. 

Ashish Kothari’s article titled “Agro-biodiversity: The Future of India’s Agriculture” reports that market-driven and incentivised agriculture has compelled farmers to work with a limited number of high-yielding food crops like wheat and rice. This endangers many indigenous species which are important for the health of the ecosystem, and makes agriculture more vulnerable to pests and disease. The narrowed genetic base is also dangerous for climate variability. 

Additionally, farmers who grow indigenous varieties struggle to access markets dominated by HYV crops, which suppliers favour. As such, many farmers have been driven to abandon traditional farming practices to ensure financial stability. They have also become increasingly dependent on pesticides to protect HYV crops which are left defenceless without indigenous crops. Farmers who choose to continue to grow indigenous varieties receive little support and virtually no access. As such, alongside the indigenous variety of fruits and crops, entire communities are at risk of being lost. 

GrowLocal was established to address precisely this issue. By bridging the gap between suppliers and farmers, and ensuring fair practices, the project hopes to provide economic stability to farming communities and to protect indigenous varieties of fruits and crops. Ultimately, GrowLocal hopes to contribute to the creation of markets which balance the demands of environmental sustainability, economic profits, and cultural preservation.