Dr. Devakumar

Member

Dr Devkumar from University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru, Karnataka needs special mention. He has been a co-traveller with the SoR Campaign team, especially in Karnataka. He was in charge of the Organic Farming Research Centre (OFRC) Shimoga, when he got in touch with Sahaja Samrudha whose seed savers shared many varieties with him. He did a thorough comparative study on indigenous varieties and HYVs under organic conditions and shared the results with us. This helped the Campaign a lot since such data is critical to get more farmers to adopt indigenous seeds on their farms. It also helped to bring about policy change in Karnataka. The state’s organic village program, outlined as part of the larger organic policy of the state, incorporated the introduction of indigenous seeds in organic villages. These seeds were supplied by the seed saver farmers of the SoR campaign. Dr Devkumar is a passionate advocate of organic farming as well as agro-biodiversity conservation. He will be found sitting very unassumingly among the audience mingling with farmers with his gentle smile and soft speech during the major programs of the Campaign.