IV. Producing Information Materials 

Booklets and wall papers have been produced in Hindi , Urdu and Nagpuri, the prevalent tribal dialect. These are used to reinforce rights awareness programs. The task is difficult because of low levels of literacy but we use intermediaries like school teachers and educated youth to convey the messages.  The subjects covered relate to the national and international developments related to bioresources and seeds.

The way ahead

GC is now in a position to share its experiences and learning with other civil society groups to broad base the work on conservation of agro biodiversity and empowerment on Farmers Rights. We could conduct training programs on community led  scientific  collection, characterization and conservation of genetic diversity

Conservation of well characterized agro biodiversity in farmer level Seed- Gene Banks can form the back bone of adapting to global warming and developing new crop varieties for the altered agro climatic conditions predicted by the . Selection of suitable genetic material for breeding can be facilitated because detailed documentation of the properties of the variety is done at the time of collection.

The tribal belt of Jharkhand is backward and rich in germplasm, The conservation of agro biodiversity and the rights empowerment of the farming and tribal community can show the way both for conservation and sustainable use of agro biodiversity.

Recognizing the rights of farmers and involving them in equal partnerships with scientific institution opens up ways to develop plant varieties through a participatory approaches.

We should aim to build a network to facilitate both, the conservation of genetic resources and the spread of awareness about the rights that farming communities have been granted in law. Farmers Rights were achieved after a long struggle in which FAO, civil society and certain national governments have invested a lot. It is only right that the rights are translated into action for real farmers on the ground.

Summary

The most important impacts of the FNPP project in Jharkhand have been on small and marginal farmer. These are:

1.The start of community led ex situ and in situ conservation of agro biodiversity and the motivation of the local communities to engage in agro biodiversity conservation.

2. Our Gene- Seed Banks have made available many traditional varieties that the communities had lost. This has helped to revive field level conservation.

3. Some awareness has been generated about Farmers Rights and an overall awareness that communities have rights over bioresources has begun to be internalized.

4. Some local youth have become enthusiastic trainers and can in the longer term develop skills to become effective in disseminating the work begun under the FNPP program

5. Local youth particularly are becoming articulate in advocacy programs and are able to raise demands related to their rights over seeds, forest produce etc. 

6. Sensitization of local government and policy makers about agro biodiversity conservation and Farmers Rights has begun, if for no other reason than frequent run ins with officials.