Community Agrobiodiversity Centre of M S Swaminathan Research Foundation participated at the Poopoli 2023: International Flower Fest from January 1st to 15th 2023. The main theme for the stall representation was on Rare Endemic & Threatened (RET) tree species of Western Ghats. Around 20 live RET tree specimens were exhibited by the Centre in the event for a period of 15 days. Besides, the focus was also given to the precious traditional agrobiodiversity of Wayanad district. In this regard, seeds of more than 20 traditional varieties of paddy were displayed for the visitors along with numerous varieties of cowpea and other legumes including French beans, lime beans, butter beans and more.
An interesting corner was also set up to introduce the visitors to different types of rhizomes of turmeric and ginger to clear misconceptions in their identification. Kasturi turmeric, black turmeric, black ginger, mango ginger and arrowroot invited keen interest & demand from the visitors. There was also a display of few wild Dioscorea species consumed by the forest-dependent tribal community called ‘Kattunaika’ along with value-added products developed by the GRIs and community groups supported by the Centre.
The centre was also awarded third prize in the category of Best Stall at Poopoli 2023. Over a period of 15 days, thousands of visitors including farmers, students, researchers, elected representatives and general public visited the exhibition.