Bargarh, Dec 21: While experiments in scientific laboratories have been a need of the hour, Odia farmer Sudam Sahu is now an agricultural critic who imparts technical knowledge to the traditional farmers across the nation for his Land-to-Lab technology in cultivation.
Sahu, who hails from the Katapali village in Odisha’s Bargarh district, is also an accredited resource person of the Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology (OUAT), to disseminate his field-acquired knowledge among the agriculture techies and farmers.
With the innovation of the Land-to-Lab intervention, Sahu who was a mere farmer being inducted by his father and grandpa, developed at least 1200 species of new-gen paddy seeds, 250 species of climate resilient and drought resistant paddies, 35 varieties of aromatic paddies and a number of medicinal seeds in his fields out of his own incubation and research.
His new-venture in conserving extinct species of paddy, vegetable and fruits ‘Anubhab Seed Bank’ is now a natural resource centre for the state farmers and a laboratory for the agriculture department to share technical knowhow of farming to the society.
The ‘Anubhab Seed Bank’ founded by Sudam has a network of at least 1200 farmers who fetch non-genetically developed paddy and vegetable seeds from it and avail free assistance on the paddy cropping with less capital ensuring high yields.
With a significant contribution to the field of Agriculture, Sudam has incubated at least 10 universal species of paddy those withstand no rain, low rain, flood and drought like disasters and fetch high productivity.
Among other paddy varieties, Kusum Kadi is the highest- sold species which is more popular in the inundated landscapes of Odisha. Apart from it, it’s one among the highly adopted seeds, exported to Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh, for its high yield ratio and climate-friendly flexibilities.
Sudam who works out on a noble theme, ‘Loan-free farmers, toxic-free food-grains, self reliant cultivation & healthy consumers’, has bagged a number of prestigious awards, from government & private institutions with ace Agro-industries.
Recently, the Prameya & News family, a unit of SOA University, conferred Sudam with the coveted ‘ Krushak Ratna Award’ for his industrious journey in promoting agriculture across the state, with his captive research and findings.
While sharing his futuristic roadmap, youth icon Sudam said, ‘The Bargarh district is prone to cancer, for the toxicity the food grains acquire from excessive use of inorganic fertilizers, growth boosters and pesticides in crops. My sincere effort will be to formulate herbal paddy seeds and toxic-free vegetables that will support healthy foodstuffs and diets which in the long run will bring about a healthy society in the vicinity.”
