Ranchi, Feb. 27: Two gene and seed banks have come up over the past two days.

Farmers of the district have joined hands with the Gene Campaign, a voluntary organisation, to preserve the indigenous varieties of seeds.

The farmers set up the first gene and seed bank at Kacchabari, a village about 24 km south of the district headquarters, and the second on the campus of the Birsa Agriculture University (BAU) at Kanke, about 8 km north of the state capital.

Helen Baxla, the oldest woman of Kacchabari village inaugurated the first bank in the presence of hundreds of farmers on Saturday.

Birsa Agriculture University vice-chancellor, N.N. Singh, unveiled the second one in the presence of agriculture scientists today.

The gene and seed bank at Kacchabari contains over 600 indigenous varieties of rice ?the staple food for rural communities in the area. The bank in the village also contains five varieties of millets, 30 sorts of pulses, 20 kinds of vegetables and 105 types of herbs.

The gene and seed bank at Birsa Agriculture University contains only 450 traditional varieties of rice. Seeds of millets, legumes and vegetables have not been kept here.

Birsa Agriculture University scientists can use the bank after getting permission from farmers for research work.

The seeds kept in the banks are sun-dried to reduce the moisture content to below 10 per cent. This allows long-term storage of the collected seeds. Local youths have been trained to use this method effectively.

The collected varieties have been characterised for their special properties and by interviews and discussions with farmers.