8 Farmers Are Bringing Back India’s Lost Vegetables With 3,000+ Native Seeds
15 October 2025
15 October 2025
Native seeds are heritage, nutrition, and resilience in a tiny packet -- one that carries centuries of taste and culture. Meet 8 farmers preserving and selling them so you can grow them too.
A Parameshwaran, an aeronautical engineer turned organic farmer has collected 350+ rare seeds—lady’s fingers, red corn, tiny gourds.
Prabhakar Rao travelled across India to collect 516 heirloom seeds of native vegetables, hand-pollinating each one. Among his collection, the Bangladesi brinjal, Poona kakadi, Magadi tomato and white okra!
Aftab MB conserves 800+ varieties—radishes, Carolina Reapers, six-colour Bhut Jolokia on his farm in Bengaluru, and sends them across India, letting kitchens and farms taste flavours nearly lost to time.
Anil Gavali conserved 350 rare vegetables and fruits in Pandharpur—from black tomatoes to rainbow corn. He shares seeds freely; farmers return double next season, making his farm a library of India’s edible heritage.
Sowmya Balasubramaniam quit IT to start HOOGA Seeds, conserving 250+ native varieties, including millets and rice.
'Seed Mother' Rahibai Soma Popere has been collecting hundreds of nutritive, drought-resistant seeds through her women-led Self Help Group.
Salai Arun has spent years travelling across India to collect seeds from tribal farmers. Today, 300+ rare vegetables thrive on his farm.
Darlapudi Ravi left his corporate job to build a germplasm bank of 3,600 indigenous seeds. He has trained 300+ farmers, ensuring these seeds thrive for generations.