CHENNAI: The two-day Chennai Roots and Tubers Festival, aimed at sensitising the urban community to the benefits of consuming tubers, exploring value addition, and cultivating them, began in Chennai on Saturday.
The festival, organised by the Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture, Safe Food Alliance, and Sahaja Seeds, is also aimed at sensitising producers and consumers to the need for revival of traditional varieties of roots and tubers. It is being held at Thakkar Bapa Vidyalaya in T Nagar.
Ananthoo, Safe Food Alliance coordinator, explained the importance of roots and tuber crops such as potato, taro, cassava, sweet potato, and yam. He said these staple energy sources adapt to diverse soil and environmental conditions, and tubers play a significant role in food security, nutrition, and climate change adaptation. As of now, people consume only a few varieties of roots and tubers, and varieties are yet to be used by the public, Ananthoo said.
Retired IAS officer Shantha Sheela Nair explained the importance of roots and tubers in daily food choices, and said ‘kappa and meen curry’ (tapioca with fish curry), a favourite of Keralites, is now hard to find in most parts of Kerala.
“I found that parotta made of maida has replaced tapioca with fish curry. It is a sad trend,” she said.During the festival, terrace gardeners and enthusiasts exchanged seeds. Traditional varieties of rice, roots and tubers, and seeds of numerous vegetables are available at the festival.