Satyanarayana Beleri is a farmer- turned- paddy conservator of Bellur a small,quaint hamlet located in the district of Kasargod, the Northern most part of Kerala bordering Karnataka.
Sathyanarayana turned to conservation to start with traditional Rajakayama paddy seeds, a variety requiring less water. He has developed his own innovative method of conservation by growing paddy in polybags. At present he is conserving more than 600 traditional varieties mainly of Kerala and Karnataka. Along with traditional varieties of paddy, he is also conserving important traditional varieties of arecanut, nutmeg, black pepper and jack. Further, he is an apiarist and has the skill in grafting/budding of plants.
Sathyanarayana with single-minded devotion is thus, trying to preserve this seed heritage, that too without any monetary returns. Sathya Narayana’s application for Plant Genome savior Farmer Reward (2018-19) was documented by Dr.Raji Vasudevan Namboodiri, Assistant Professor, College of Agriculture, Padannakkad and processed by IPR , Cell , Kerala Agricultural University. The joint efforts of IPR cell, KAU and College of Agriculture, Padannakkad resulted in the conferment of this award to Sathyanarayana Beleri for the year 2018-19. He received Rs.1.50 lakhs, Citation and memento from the PPV&FRA, New Delhi
The awards were distributed in the function held on 11th November 2021 at A.P. Shinde Symposium Hall, NASC Complex, Pusa, Delhi.
