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Wise pathways for the future of food
It was not too long ago when Marsiana, a farmer from an indigenous community in West Kalimantan, told the story of how she tried to plant new seeds in her field but, against her expectation for a higher yield, the rice crop failed.
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Good harvest: Female farmers in Lembah Hijau 2 village in Nanga Tayap district, Ketapang regency, West Kalimantan, show green mustards they harvested to journalists in a recent visit to the village. (JP/Severianus Endi)
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t was not too long ago when Marsiana, a farmer from an indigenous community in West Kalimantan, told the story of how she tried to plant new seeds in her field but, against her expectation for a higher yield, the rice crop failed. She then decided to go back to her traditional seed supply to continue to secure future harvests for her family.
This episode is one of many stories in the lives of women farmers in rural Kalimantan who daily and quietly labor in their communities to safeguard local agricultural systems and food security.
By preserving the seeds of the many varieties of rice, sorghum, corn, millet and also tubers and vegetables, and by routinely planting and using them for the consumption of their families and to supply local markets, women farmers remind us of the crucial role that women play in rural economy and the importance of biodiversity for the resilience and sustainability of food crops.
In the words of another woman farmer, Lussia from East Kalimantan, “It is better if we keep a little seed as future reserve than a particular variety gone extinct.”
