‘Nel’ Jayaraman, Who Revived Over 170 Local Paddy Seed Varieties, Passes Away

CHENNAI: K R Jayaraman, one of India’s most ardent crusaders in farming, succumbed to cancer on Thursday. Widely known as Nel (Tamil for paddy) Jayaraman, he was known for reviving more than 170 local paddy varieties and promoting organic farming in Tamil Nadu.

Jayaraman, who was also the coordinator of ‘Save our Rice’ campaign in the state, was recognised for his work and had won several awards by the state and Central governments.

An unassuming farmer, Nel Jayaraman started his crusade by conserving seeds and promoting native styles of farming and local seed varieties across the state.

A native of Adirangam in Thiruvarur district, which was known for Vaishnavite pilgrimage, it was because of Jayaraman that since 2006, the district became famous for the annual paddy seed festival, known as ‘Nel Thiruvizha’. Each year, farmers from across the state and nearby places participate in the programme. Last year approximately 12,000 farmers attended the festival.

Jayaraman began popularising local seed varieties by giving each participant two kilograms of seeds and asked them to return next year with 4 Kg. Soon, farmers started returning to the annual festival with more than 4 kg of seeds, as a result of which the festival is now considered one of the most important platform for farmers in Tamil Nadu.

Two years in a row (2012 and 2013), Jayaraman was awarded the ‘Best Organic Farmer’ title by the state government. In 2015, he won the ‘Best Genome Saviour’ award by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF).

“When I first met him, Nel Jayaraman was just another farmer from Thiruvarur,” recalls C Jayakumar, the founder of Thanal, the environmental group that has been collaborating with Jayaraman for years.

“In 2004, we conducted a conference on international paddy year. G Nammalvar (a green crusader, agricultural and environmental activist)was the keynote speaker in that conference. Jayaraman was with him. He was a trustee of CREATE (a consumer-based organisation in Tamil Nadu ) back then. He took a steep turn since then and started getting involved in the conservation. He reached out to people even in remote corners of the state and started organising them. One of his key concepts was that seeds are not for sale. It was an interesting movement that he led in Tamil Nadu. What began with 50 or 60 people, has now spread to every district”

As a result, says Jayakumar, “everywhere you can find farmers who use local variety of seeds for farming now. He travelled across the state and collected seeds which were on the edge of extinction and revived them. He was very active in his work even when he was ill,” adding that Jayaraman was a “person who refused to fail.”

Now wonder, several people landed up to pay homage to him, including political leaders and film stars. M K Stalin, the chief of DMK, tweeted that Jayaraman had devoted his life to “protect the soil of Tamil Nadu.” The state government had offered Rs 5 lakh for his medical expenses, and according to The Hindu, actor Sivakarthikeyan has offered to take care of the educational expenses of Jayaraman’s son.