New Delhi, June 2 -- There was a time when women farmers in Machnoor village of Telangana faced shortage of good quality seeds. They were forced to borrow seeds from landlords and would often get them too late or find them to be of poor quality.

Not anymore.

To break this cycle, they decided to save and share their own seeds with each other, leading to the birth of Sangham Seed Bank in 1995, formed with the help of Deccan Development Society, a Telangana-based non-profit. Women from nearly 75 villages are part of the initiative.

The bank stores 80 types of traditional food crops-mainly millets, pulses and oilseeds-that grow well in dry, tough conditions. It also has dryland rice and wheat varieties that need less water and can survive...