Context:– Nagaland’s Ao and Sümi Naga communities, rooted in agrarian traditions, uphold traditional knowledge in seed preservation as a means of sustaining their livelihoods. Their agricultural practices, deeply embedded in jhum or shifting cultivation, revolve around cultivating various crops tailored to different types of land. Furthermore, these practices are conform to suit the diverse landscape and environmental conditions.
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Key Practices of Ao and Sümi Naga Communities:
- Crop Diversity: These communities cultivate crops such as rice, millet, pepper, tomato, brinjal, tobacco, and legumes based on the type of land. They utilize highlands for maize, taro, and glutinous rice, while lowlands are devote to beans, chili, and leguminous crops.
- Seed Selection and Preservation: Farmers carefully choose seeds harvested from initial jhum fields for their optimal yield and resilience. They preserve these seeds for successive cultivation cycles, contributing to sustained agricultural productivity.
Community Seed Banks (CSBs):
Initiated by local community institutions, CSBs play a crucial role in managing plant genetic resources. They ensure seed security for farmers, offering seeds at lower costs, and engage in seed selection, distribution, and knowledge-sharing among farmers.
Significance of Traditional Knowledge (TK):
TK embodies the knowledge, skills, and practices transmitted across generations within a community, forming an integral part of cultural identity. It spans various domains including agricultural, ecological, medicinal, and biodiversity-related knowledge.
IP Issues and TK Protection:
- Defensive Protection: Strategies are employed to prevent illegitimate IP rights over TK. This includes amending patent systems and developing TK databases as evidence against patent claims.
- Positive Protection: Efforts aim to prevent unauthorized use of TK and encourage its active exploitation by originating communities. Negotiations for an international legal instrument on TK protection are ongoing within WIPO.
Conclusion:
Traditional knowledge in Nagaland’s seed preservation practices is integral to sustainable agriculture. Efforts toward both defensive and positive protection of TK in intellectual property systems aim to safeguard the invaluable heritage of indigenous communities. Additionally, they seek to ensure equitable recognition of their knowledge.
