The “chance discovery” of an unusual Bathua plant in his field a decade ago set Sayed Ahmed Bachchu, a Bangladeshi farmer, on a path to become an unlikely guardian of agricultural biodiversity. Spotting a seedling that differed from the common variety, he chose to nurture it rather than discard it. The plant grew tall, reaching seven to eight feet. Intrigued, Bachchu collected its seeds and began systematic cultivation. He later distributed them to neighbouring farmers. That Bathua marked the start of a lifelong pursuit: seed collection.

Now 66, Bachchu’s primary passion is gathering rice varieties. His personal collection holds 540 distinct types. He has also preserved seeds of 42 vegetables and 19 traditional and indigenous fruits. His work goes beyond collection. Through cross-breeding and trials he initiated, Bachchu has developed 16 new rice strains — nine of them entirely his own. He distributes the seeds free to local farmers, on one condition: after harvest, each must return the amount of seed they received.

Bachchu is most concerned by the relentless spread of hybrid and commercial varieties, which have pushed countless indigenous and regional crops to the brink of extinction. That threat prompted his solo effort to collect, conserve and exchange seeds.

“The way my father and uncles farmed, yields were lower, but the methods were different,” Bachchu told Bonik Barta. “Ploughing was used; there wasn’t much pesticide or chemicals. The taste, though, was excellent. People also had fewer illnesses. Later, as the population grew and farmland shrank, we turned to high-yielding and hybrid varieties to meet the pressure. The goal became maximising output by any means. This caused many local and regional varieties to begin disappearing. I took the initiative to try and sustain them. This ensures these strains survive. It also helps the new generation learn about our old varieties.”

Bachchu is not an institutional researcher, nor is he part of any government project. Yet, working quietly with his own resources, he has built an unusual seed bank. His collected seeds now circulate among the ordinary farmers of his village. In 2005, to bolster this grassroots agricultural movement, he formed the Tushaipara Farmers’ Organisation.

Bachchu is a resident of Rameshwarpur village. He had studied until the tenth grade before taking up farming on his father’s land. His seed collection work mostly began in that same year, 2005, with just six rice varieties. Today, his collection holds 540 types of rice alongside numerous varieties of vegetables and fruit.

A recent visit to Rameshwarpur found the home of Sayed Ahmed Khan Bachchu transformed into a makeshift seed museum. On a wooden rack in his living room, small and large containers are meticulously arranged, holding seeds of various fruits, vegetables and rice. Each pot bears the mark of careful preservation: one holds native red spinach, another a rare variety of gourd, and others the seeds of unfamiliar fruits.

A second collection is kept at the Tushaipara Farmers’ Organisation office, a short distance from his house. Seeds of different rice varieties are stored in small pots and arranged there for display. Local farmers come to see them, discuss the collection and share their own experiences.

On 30 percent of his land in his home village, Bachchu has planted 82 rice varieties. On another 20 percent, he has sown 47 more. A single field with such diversity is rare in rural Bangladesh. Each variety is marked with a small sign. When the rice ripens, he will hold a “Field Day”, inviting farmers from surrounding areas to see the crop in situ, select varieties and take seeds home. It is an open-air exhibition in the fields.

What began as a personal venture has now gained broad support. Bachchu travelled at his own expense in his early years, gathering, cultivating, preserving and distributing seeds. Eventually, the research organisation BARCIK (Bangladesh Resource Center for Indigenous Knowledge) began covering the costs of collecting rice seeds and cultivating seed rice. With BARCIK’s support, he has travelled to India, Thailand and the Philippines, learning different cultivation techniques.

Applying that knowledge at home, he has created 16 new rice varieties through cross-breeding. Nine, he says, are entirely his own innovations, though they remain unnamed. On BARCIK’s advice, they are currently preserved and identified by the code names DS 01 to DS 09.

For official recognition and further research, Bachchu is in contact with the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and the Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU). Bacchu says that researchers from these institutions have visited his fields and conducted tests.

Though lacking formal recognition, the impact of his work is evident. By conserving indigenous and regional varieties, circulating seeds on an exchange basis and developing new strains, he has, through his own efforts, built an unusual repository of crop diversity.

One new variety he has developed through cross-breeding, says Bachchu, is a type of Kataribhog rice — a high-yielding strain. He said he cultivates it for his own consumption. “I planted it on 40 percent of my land this year,” he notes. “I hope to get 30 to 32 maunds (each maund is roughly 37.32 kg).”

Bachchu also continues his experiments with spices, vegetables and native fruits. In rows of sacks next to his home, he cultivates ginger, garlic and onions. His courtyard and surrounding plots hold a small orchard of indigenous fruit trees: mango, jackfruit, guava, blackberry and others. He collects their seeds, too; his archive now contains 18 to 20 types of native fruit seed. In an adjacent field, he grows various greens and vegetables: red spinach in one plot, stem amaranth in another, local brinjal here, potatoes there.

Bachchu is acutely aware of the dangers of adulteration and excessive chemical use. For his family’s own consumption, he cultivates vegetables, spices and potatoes with limited fertiliser and pesticide, striving wherever possible to use natural methods.

Self-reliance extends beyond crops. He keeps cattle and poultry at home, and farms fish in a pond. Meat, fish, eggs and milk for the household are thus produced entirely on-farm. “We hardly ever buy fruit, fish, meat, milk or eggs,” Bachchu says. “If we need extra for a special occasion, we might get some from the market. But I try my utmost not to buy these things. That’s why I cultivate all kinds of produce.”

For local farmers, the elderly cultivator has become an informal teacher. When someone wants to try a new rice variety or needs advice on vegetables, they turn to him. He eagerly goes to their fields to demonstrate techniques. At field days organised by BARCIK, he is given a platform to share his experience with experimental cultivation, seed preservation and cross-breeding.

Ohidur Rahman, a regional coordinator for BARCIK, told Bonik Barta: “Farmer Bachchu’s collection holds over five hundred rice seeds. We’re liaising with various government bodies to secure further research on and national recognition for the sixteen new rice varieties developed by him and the farmers he leads. We also provide financial support when he needs to travel to other districts to collect seeds.”