Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi on Thursday called for the promotion of traditional seed varieties of agriculture and horticulture crops in rainfed areas to enhance climate resilience.

Traditional varieties can be grown in clusters and marketed at premium prices, he said addressing an event on 'Reviving agro-biodiversity in rainfed areas through traditional varieties for climate-resilient agriculture'.

"The ministry is keen to promote varieties through various schemes related to agriculture and horticulture...," the Secretary said.

These varieties offer unique traits including better taste, aroma, colour, cooking quality and nutritional value, he added.

Experts advocated for stronger government policy support to preserve these varieties, according to an official statement. The varieties could be linked to markets and promoted through natural farming schemes.

About 61 per cent of Indian farmers rely on rainfed agriculture across 50 per cent of the country's land. These areas, marked by low soil fertility and climate variability, depend heavily on informal seed systems like farmer exchanges and community seed banks.

Nearly half of India's seed requirements are met through such systems, highlighting conservation needs.

The event was organized by National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA), in collaboration with the Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture Network (RRAN) and Watershed Support Services & Activities Network.

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