DDS launches 24th ‘Patha Pantala Jathara’ in Zaheerabad

To educate the farmers on the need to cultivate millets and other traditional crops, the DDS founder PV Sathish had launched the Mobile Bio-diversity Festival, 24 years ago.

Sangareddy: The Deccan Development Society (DDS) has been continuing its unrelenting efforts to protect traditional crop cultivation such as millet, and leaf vegetables in the Zaheerabad region of the district. As part of its efforts, the DDS has launched the annual 24th Patha Pantala Jathara (Mobile Bio-diversity Festival- MBF) on January 14.

To educate the farmers on the need to cultivate millets and other traditional crops, the DDS founder PV Sathish had launched the MBF 24 years ago. During the month-long programme, the DDS will organise educative programmes by roping in experts and farmers, who were successfully cultivating these crops, to expand the tribe. They would touch thousands of farmers in villages during the month-long festival. Director of DDS V Rukmini Rao has said that the agriculture department should support the farmers who were cultivating traditional crops in their lands.

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Recalling the services of PV Sathish for protecting the old crops, Rao has said that the DDS women’s associations should play a key role in feeding the urban by cultivating the crops that other regular farmers were not cultivating. She has appealed to the existing farmers to educate the other farmers in the village to make them join the club.

Sharing her views during the inaugural of MBF at Jadimalkapur village, a woman farmer Haritha has said that there used to be just 15 farmers in their club when the DDS had started their work. Haritha has said that the number of farmers increased to 42 while the area under cultivation went up to 50 acres in Jadi Malkapur village alone.

Seed protector Moligeri Chandramma, a resident of Bidakanne in Jharasangam Mandal, has said that she had got an opportunity to tour some 20 countries during her 30 years of association with DDS.

Chandramma has said that she had learnt the art of protecting the seeds which she has been teaching to many farmers during the MBF. Despite the loss of Sathish, who died of age-related health problems in last March, the DDS women had vowed to continue their work to cultivate the crops and expand their club by organising educative sessions.