Reji Joseph from Kerala stands out as conservator of tuber varieties

Reji Joseph from Kerala conserves 250 tuber varieties, showcasing 80 at a fair, recognized with awards for his efforts.

The 53-year-old Reji Joseph from Kerala stands out as one of the conservators of tuber varieties.

Mr. Joseph, from Pulloopuram near Ranny town in Pathanamthitta district in Kerala, has conserved about 250 tuber varieties of which about 100 are Dioscorea varieties.

This cable tv network maintainer-cum-farmer has displayed about 80 varieties of tubers at the two-day ‘gedde, genasu and soppina mela’ (fair of tubers and leafy vegetables) which began at Sanghaniketan in Mangaluru on Saturday, January 4.

The mela has been organised by Savayava Krishika Grahaka Balaga of Mangaluru in association with other organisations.

“It took 10 days for two labourers to harvest the tubers meant for display at the mela. I spent about ₹20,000 for the harvest which has to be done carefully without damaging the tubers. Harvesting tubers is a challenge,” he who is into organic farming told The Hindu.

Mr. Joseph was conferred with the Plant Genome Saviour Farmer Award in 2020 by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority, under the Union Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. In addition, he holds other records for cultivating tubers.

Farming for Mr. Joseph begins on one-and-half acre of land taken on lease after 10 a.m. after attending to cable tv network maintenance works between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. “I have labelled all the crop varieties on the farm for easy identification,” he said adding that his conservation initiative began about 25 years ago.