Koraput Dongria Community Seed Bank Odisha

Koraput district of Odisha and particularly the tribal areas of Malkangiri and Rayagada maintain some of India most important community seed banks, where tribal women from Kondh, Paraja, and Bonda communities collectively conserve hundreds of varieties of rice, millet, pulses, and vegetables that are not available in any commercial seed catalogue. The community seed bank system is managed by tribal women self-help cooperative groups under the Odisha Tribal Empowerment and Livelihoods Programme OTELP. Seeds are deposited by members after harvest and withdrawn before planting, maintaining an active living library of crop genetic diversity. The Vanya Krishi Vikas Sanstha cooperative federation supports seed bank management and documentation of traditional cultivation knowledge. Koraput community seed banks have become a model for agrobiodiversity conservation recognised by FAO and the International Centre for Genetic Resources. International seed companies and researchers must seek community consent for access to these seed collections under biopiracy protection frameworks.