International Seed Day, celebrated annually on April 26, highlights the critical importance of seed sovereignty, biodiversity conservation, and farmers’ rights. In 2026, the focus centers on local, climate-resilient seeds and the role of traditional knowledge, particularly in millet revival and sustainable agricultural practices against climate change. If you stay with the trail behind a herd, what begins to stand out is not just where the animals go, but where the seeds go with them. A seed that begins its journey in one patch of grassland rarely stays there.
Some seeds fall along pathways, others into harvested fields, and many into small pockets of dung that offer warmth, moisture, and nutrients. Not all seeds grow and that, too, is part of the story. Some remain dormant, waiting for the rain. Others sprout quickly with the first monsoon showers, releasing that unmistakable earthy scent of wet soil rising from rangelands. Dung returns nutrients to the soil, enriching it for future growth, while grazing itself creates cycles of use and rest, allowing plants to regenerate, flower, and seed again.
Presentation -Dibyabharati Nayak