Bhubaneswar, July 24: The ST & SC Development Department has taken up virtual tour of Odisha State Tribal Museum on every Sunday. The visitors can visit the traditional methods of food preservation and pest control by the Paroja Tribe by opening the Facebook and Twitter pages @stscdev, @scstrti on 25th July, said Director, SCSTRTI, Prof. (Dr.) A.B. Ota.

An agrarian tribe, the Paroja employ several food preservation and pest control techniques that are both technically sound and scientific. Using these techniques, they cultivate and conserve cereals, pulses, vegetables, mushrooms and fish.

By favouring open pollination rather than using hybrid seeds, by using organic pesticides and natural pest control, the indigenous methods of food preservation have been practiced by the Paroja over centuries.

The film documents how these techniques help the Paroja in ensuring food security and maintaining food diversity. It also explores how the agricultural practices of the Paroja helped preserve endemic bio-diversity in crops long before modern agricultural science recognized its importance. These methods are now being studied by modern agricultural research for reducing dependence on chemical fertilizers and pesticides.