- Studies have highlighted the abundance of wild edible greens along organic paddy fields which have long supported the nutritional and medicinal needs of indigenous communities.
- Indiscriminate weeding, pesticide use, and the decline of traditional heirloom paddy varieties are contributing to a reduction in the floral biodiversity of these fields.
- Social media initiatives are raising awareness about the disappearance of wild edibles and heritage paddy varieties, while also shedding light on the hidden impacts of modern agricultural practices.
In 2014, while walking through her fields in Pollachi town in Tamil Nadu, Sreedevi Lakshmikutty noticed something interesting. Several women from the neighbouring fields were foraging a wild plant that grew abundantly amidst the pulses in her fields. “I asked the women why they were foraging for this plant, and they explained that they don’t find this keerai or edible green in their own fields. They called it Pannai keerai (flamingo feather in Tamil) and even plucked some for me and taught me how to cook it,” shares Lakshmikutty.
As the co-founder of Bio Basics, an organic brand that champions heritage grains and provides market access to several smallholder farmers, Lakshmikutty was intrigued by the wild edibles that graced agricultural lands. In 2017, as part of the Save Our Rice campaign, a movement spearheaded by Kerala-based nonprofit organisation, Thanal, Lakshmikutty co-edited a 180-page report on the evolution of paddy cultivation spotlighting issues surrounding pesticide usage, mono-cropping and the loss of heritage varieties. A small chapter in the report was dedicated to the presence of uncultivated wild greens that grow along paddy fields of Wayanad district in Kerala. The chapter elaborates that these “weeds” offer immense medicinal benefits to the indigenous communities of the region. The report further explains that many of these plants are no longer seen in paddy fields due to the rampant use of pesticides and herbicides.
The disappearance of wild greens from paddy fields might have remained a mere footnote in the broader conversation about conventional farming practices, if not for Lakshmikutty’s recent post on the social media platform, Instagram, introducing her new initiative called Greens & Grains. Joining hands with Shruti Tharayil of the popular Instagram handle Forgotten Greens, where she educates people about the wild edibles found in urban landscapes, the duo are sharing simple recipes where foraged greens are paired with heritage rice varieties. While the greens currently come from areas around Lakhmikutty’s residence in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, through the pairings and the ensuing conversations, Lakshmikutty (Devi in the reel) and Tharayil are encouraging people to think about the importance of wild foods and biodiversity of paddy lands.
More than just paddy
In a 2016 research article, scientists from the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Community Agrobiodiversity Centre in Wayanad explained about a study where they documented the uses of 95 floral species from paddy fields, bunds and paddy-associated habitats in the district. The paper highlights the stunning floral biodiversity that paddy fields and nearby regions host while showcasing the intricate knowledge that the indigenous communities harbour.
It refers to many of these as “useful weeds”, including plants such as Aerva lanata (L.) Juss., locally known as cheroola — its syrup is used to cure fever and cough; Ageratum conyzoides L., locally known as appa or appakkaadu, which is used to cure eczema and sores, and Cleome viscose L. or thaalu or kaattuthaalu (among other names), used in treating stomach pain.
Globally, there is a growing interest in comprehending and documenting the nutritional and environmental benefits of wild foods. However, the knowledge is limited when it comes to understanding these associations, specifically in paddy fields. Prajeesh Parameswaran, senior scientist at the MSSRF, Community Agrobiodiversity Centre and first author of the article, explains that the MSSRF team encountered these paddy-field related greens while they were extensively studying Wayanad’s wild food diversity.
“Wayanad offers an interesting ecosystem where wild edibles in and around paddy fields can be studied. Several indigenous communities here depend on these plants as they play an important role in their food and medicinal security. We were looking at paddy fields as a larger ecosystem where so much biodiversity and ecology is conserved. While other places may not have all these interdependencies, isolated studies have examined the role of wild edibles in wetland ecosystems,” says Parameswaran.
The paucity of published scientific data on the topic is also evident from a review article published in 2021 by the Centre for Studies in Ethnobiology, Biodiversity, and Sustainability (CEiBa), Kolkata, West Bengal, that examines the crucial role that edible flora and fauna from paddy fields play in local food cultures and food security in general. While several examples document the faunal biodiversity, the review article, looking specifically for rice fields and rice paddy-related information, found only one significant mention of floral biodiversity from the subcontinent — a study published in 1978 describing the useful weeds from the rice fields of Hooghly and Midnapore districts.
Avik Ray, co-founder and director of CEiBa and the first author of the review article, explains that the analysis stems from his interest in understanding the evolution of rice cultivation and its agroecosystems over time and the paucity of studies does not mean the absence of practices around wild edibles. Ray says, “Agricultural practices in many Asian countries continue to enable farmers to sustainably intensify paddy production by co-cultivating rice and fish or arthropods, building on their age-old traditional ecological knowledge.” The biota in paddy fields aid in nutrient cycling and better resource utilisation, thus benefiting the overall yields. However, this intricate balance has been impacted by changes in the agrarian systems and the growth of industrial agriculture.
“The disappearance of edible biota from rice fields has happened over decades of agricultural change owing to the Green Revolution-induced changes in the biophysical and chemical environment of rice agroecosystems. The indiscriminate application of pesticides, chemical fertilisers, and weedicides has decimated many flora and fauna that once inhabited rice fields,” explains Ray.
Lakshmikutty adds to the discussion, saying that her attempts to recreate these ecosystems on the plate using available wild edibles is a means to raise alarm bells not only about the rapidly disappearing wild edible floral biodiversity but also the heritage paddy varieties. It is believed that in the last 50-odd years, India has lost more than 93% of its heritage rice varieties.
“Ironically, both wild edibles and the traditional paddy varieties are looking for acceptance. They are very important for the climate, and preserving them is essential to ensure sustainable food sources. Even in organic cultivation, you don’t find many wild edibles as they are removed in the process of weeding. We want people to start thinking about these foods and use them where possible. Our recipes show that this will not require a drastic shift in their diets,” says Lakhmikutty.
Apart from the use of pesticides and weedicides, land use changes are also significantly impacting paddy field-related flora, explains Parameswaran. He says that despite the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, 2008, which restricts the conversion of paddy fields, farmers are increasingly turning their fields into banana and areca nut plantations for better returns and to overcome challenges posed by changing monsoon patterns. Along with the biodiversity of paddy, these conversions also spell doom for the biota that the ecosystem supports. “Indigenous communities like the Adiyas and Paniyas that depend on agricultural wage labour are well-versed in foraging greens from paddy fields, where they mainly work. Land use changes also impact the nutritional subsistence they get from these greens,” adds Vipindas P, development coordinator at MSSRF, Wayanad.
Connecting the dots
When author Sweta Biswal began researching for her cookbook Beyond Dalma, she found the intricate manner in which the agricultural cycle and seasonal produce influence the foodways of her home state, Odisha. “Paddy fields are sources of numerous greens that are foraged by nearby communities. When left fallow after a harvest, edible greens like Mutthi saag or Knotweed (Polygonum plebeium) and Hidmicha saag or Buffalo Spinach (Enhydra fluctuans) are frequently sourced from the moist fields,” says Biswal. The author adds that not only are these greens consumed by the communities, the women also sell some of these greens in the local markets to gain additional income.
Parameswaran emphasises the role of gender in identifying these “weeds” and knowing how to use them. “The gender aspect of wild food management is also important in preserving these foods. Women mainly do the foraging, and they know what to gather, when, and how to utilise the plants. The traditional knowledge of processing the wild foods needs to be documented along with their identities,” he says.
Biswal, for example, shares how the Mutthi saag needs to be boiled in water first to reduce some of its astringency. “The water is then discarded, and the leaves are cooked with eggplants, taro, pumpkin or some dried fish to balance the tastes. This is one of the flavourful greens and a popular one,” she adds.
Apart from rigorous documentation, Tharayil also adds that building awareness on social media ensures that the knowledge percolates its way into everyday plates.” People are now very conscious about where their food comes from and how they can eat better. The idea of this social media project is to help them view their food sources in a holistic manner. We hope they can see that with the right practices, farms can be thriving ecosystems where the grains don’t grow in isolation but amidst all these greens,” she says.
Parameswaran adds that awareness is also vital, so people seek these greens in the markets. “With access to vegetables and greens from the markets, the foraged greens are looked down upon. Awareness is essential to dispel the notion that foraged greens are of lower value compared to what the market offers and scientific validation of the qualities of the plants may help here,” he says.
However, farmers’ markets and farmer-centric organisations are playing a crucial role in bringing these wild greens to the urban audience and bridging the knowledge gap. Initiatives like Sarjapura Curries in Bengaluru and Spudnik Farms in Kolar in Karnataka, along with food festivals like the Wild Food Festival, Mumbai, organised by OOO Farms and food media organisation The Locavore, and the Nilgiris Earth Festival (previously known as the Nilgiris Wild Food Festival) by The Nilgiris Foundation, are shining a spotlight on wild greens making it possible for people to experience these foods. Spudnik Farms, for example, sources Flamingo Feather that grows amidst the millet and paddy in its partner farms, thus giving these nutrition-packed greens a home while sharing their virtues on social media.
Read more: Looking for nutritional gold in wild greens
Banner image: A group of women of the Adiya community conduct paddy transplantation. Image by Vipindas.
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