‘Unity for Diversity’ was the motto of the People’s Biodiversity Festival held in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, from October 13 to 16, 2012. The program enabled local, regional, national and global networking for policy correction and collaboration regarding biodiversity, bringing together social enterprises from different states, policy makers, citizens, farmers, media, international delegates to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and youth.
“I feel that this land belongs to me. I am a farmer, but no one recognizes me as such,” says Manasa from Challekere, in Chitradurga District. She is not alone in her views; Manasa’s sentiments are echoed by her peers and women farmers across India.
“When I used to do all the activities right from preparing the land for sowing to sowing, weeding, harvesting and processing it was not acknowledged,” adds her friend Yashoda.