A Community that breathes Agriculture

                                

https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/a-community-that-breathes-agriculture-1211311.html

Gokarna, known among tourists and pilgrims is a popular travelling destination for summer. Besides beaches and temples, very few are acquainted with its other facets, like the indigenous ‘Halakki Vokkaliga’ tribe and their expertise towards agriculture. Fragmented fields of just two-four cents don’t seem to make any difference, as they grow variety of crops which are rare to find elsewhere.

The most sought after vegetables of coastal Uttara Kannada

White sweet potatoes (bili genasu), parrot green twisted hot chillies (Gokarna mensu), slendor long purple, white and green streaked brinjals (gokarna badane), burgundy colored broad leaved amaranthus (kempu ottu harive), ash gourds & pumpkins double the size of our head, pear shaped bottle gourds (haalu gumbala), dark green yellow striped rugby shaped cucumbers (sambar soute), Malabar spinach (basella) made into wreaths, braided non pungent sweet/salad onions are few of those special vegetables, very peculiar to coastal Uttara Kannada. Loved by localites, these veggies are also the favorites of visitors who travel by. All thanks to Halakkis!  

While paddy being obviously the crop of monsoons and staple; veggies grown from late winter to midsummer are an additional means of income for a typical Halakki family. Most of the farmers are small holders, but the way they handle their sandy soiled fields in a pure organic way is remarkable. Every inch of land is brought under cultivation, even the fences are covered with climbing vines of gourds. Of course the credits of saving such a rich biodiversity of crops go to the local community as they conserve, utilize, improve and manage these genetic resources. They are the custodians of agro biodiversity conservation inadvertently contributing to food security. What’s more interesting is the involvement of women, especially in marketing the produce.

Women in action

Faded cotton sarees draped to knee length, knotted at the right shoulder like sarong (perfect for hot summer); neck adorned with layers of beaded necklaces; grey hair tied in a bun ornated with crosaandra; Halakki women with a bamboo basket in their hand can be seen bugging tourists to buy wild fruits and flowers on the streets all around in Gokarna, and neighboring cities like Ankola and Kumta. Portable tarpaulin tents connected in a row, tens of women vendors, middle to old aged, selling variety of vegetables on the foot paths, at crowded places like bus stand, bargaining with customers in their native language is a sight that should not be missed when you are here.

They being the form of Nature, women are linked with green and prosperity. Men performing pre harvest practices like land preparation and irrigation; women carrying out post harvest operations like value addition and storage is common to an agrarian family. Women maintaining kitchen garden, attending nutrition needs of family, saving seeds for next cropping season contribute to conservation of diversity. Also, this is evident from the beginning of civilization, when men were hunter gatherers, while women started ‘cropping’, which further lead to domestication of wild crop, marking the beginning of something called agriculture. The Halakki women are one step ahead in this regard, as they execute special task of marketing farm produce, contributing to the livelihood.

Eroding diversity and efforts to save them

According to the statistics of Horticulture Department, Gokarna Hobli alone recorded a production of 3700 tons of various vegetables before pandemic. Like all other sectors, even vegetable market here suffered huge loss, making farming not lucrative. Natural calamities like unseasonal rainfall are causing decline in the production. Agriculture land being turned into residential areas and resorts to host foreign tourists has proven the biggest threat to the agrobiodiversity, marks Suresh Gouda, a Halakki farmer from Rudrapad village. Drastic Shift towards cultivation of cash crops like areca, youth attracted more towards alluring employment opportunities in tourism sector are posing challenges, he expresses his concern.

The hope that still lies among public to save these traditional crops is by protecting them through Intellectual Property Rights. Udipi Mattu Gulla, Sagara Appemidi, Sirsi Supari from the adjacent places are registered with GI tags; Kari Ishad Mango from Ankola recently got its GI; Joida Village has been awarded Plant Genome Savior Award for conserving tuber crops due to institutional efforts. Kumta sweet onion, Kagga Paddy (which grows in saline water), Gokarna chilly have great potential for GI protection and conservation. This not only recognizes the efforts of indigenous community at international level, but also sparks up younger generation to continue agriculture.