According to a report published in ‘The Hindu’, twenty three farmers are actively a part of Mati Farms, across the highland regions of Gajapati district, Koraput in northern Odisha, and coastal regions.
The purple sweet potatoes are indigenously developed here.
Mati Farms
- The māti in ‘Mati Farms’ is soil, in Oriya. It was started as a pilot project on one farmer’s one-acre farm on the banks of the Chilika lake in late 2016, grew into Mati Farms in 2018.
- In 2012, Koraput, in the Eastern Ghats, was accorded the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) status.
About Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)
- Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) are outstanding landscapes of aesthetic beauty that combine agricultural biodiversity, resilient ecosystems and a valuable cultural heritage.
- Since 2005, FAO has designated 62 systems in 22 countries as agricultural heritage sites, and currently, 15 new proposals from 9 different countries were received.
- In Asia-Pacific region, 40 agriculture heritage systems were designated so far in 8 countries and one territory.
In India, three landscapes have been designated as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems. These are:
- Koraput Traditional Agriculture (Odisha),
- Kuttanad Below Sea Level Farming System (Kerala): It is the only system in India that favours rice cultivation below sea level in the land created by draining delta swamps in brackish waters.
- Saffron Heritage of Jammu and Kashmir.
(Source: The Hindu and FAO)
