For his efforts to grow and conserve 650 varieties of paddy in his five acre farm in Kasaragod, Kerala, Sathyanarayana Beleri has been deservedly awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award.

Sathyanarayana Beleri has worked steadfastly to conserve traditional variants of rice and his efforts saw him as one of the awardees of the Padma Shri.

I spoke to him for this story and he explained how he has been using grow bags to conserve these varieties. In fact he has also shared seeds with other farmers and he has done so much without actually being a paddy farmer.

Read his story that first appeared in The New Indian Express dated March 17, 2023 here: