TRADITIONAL rice varieties of India are disappearing fast because of cross-breeding and poor conservation measures. Even in the predominantly rice-growing Konkan region of Maharashtra, where more than 400 varieties existed once, only half-a-dozen are available now, according to Rajeev Khedkar, secretary of the Academy of Development Science.

Local varieties can withstand extreme climatic conditions, pests and diseases better than cross-bred ones. Says rice technologist R H Richaria, "Local varieties are centuries old and if they are lost, you cannot get them back." Richaria adds that unless a massive conservation programme is undertaken, many local varieties may become extinct. Khedkar supports this view and says, "We cannot blame the farmers."

The germplasm of local rice varieties are being conserved at the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources in Delhi, the Indira Gandhi Agricultural University at Raipur and the Central Rice Research Institute in Cuttack. However, Khedkar says such programmes are centralised, to which farmers in remote areas have limited access. Additionally, mere storage of germplasm is not enough -- traditional varieties have to be raised every year so that they adapt to the local environment.