Rahibai Popere

Rahibai Soma Popere, is an Indian farmer and conservationist. She helps other farmers return to native varieties of crops, preparing hyacinth beans for self-help groups. She is among three Indians on the BBC list of “100 Women 2018”. Scientist Raghunath Mashelkar gave her the epithet “Seed Mother”.

Rahibai Soma Popere farm land, where she grows 17 different crops. She was visited by the BAIF Development Research Foundation in 2017, who found the gardens she supported had enough produce to meet the dietary requirements of a family for a whole year.

She developed a series of hyacinth beans for self-help groups and families in nearby villages. She was described by Raghunath Mashelkar, the erstwhile Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research as ‘Seed Mother’. She has created her own methods to harvest water on farms; turning wasteland into space she can use productively. She trains farmers and students on ways to select seeds, keep fertile soils and manage pests. She is skilled in four-step paddy cultivation. She has learned to rear poultry in her yard with the support of the Maharashtra Institute of Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (MITTRA)