Custom of child marriages must be fought on multiple fronts

Keeping girls in school is an important way to push back underage marriages. (Photo by Eric Parker)

There is no silver bullet to defeat the scourge of underage marriages. Rather, it is important to extend the scope of current interventions among adolescents and the communities they grow up in, which then need to be backed up by suitable government policies

Girls join football clubs to resist child marriages in rural Bihar

Village girls in Bihar have started playing football to fight against child marriage. (Photo by Mohd Imran Khan)

Once topping the charts in child marriages in the country, Bihar has reduced the incidence of this social evil considerably, helped by innovative interventions such as starting girls clubs for solidarity and encouraging them to play football

Competition encourages watershed management to drought-proof Maharashtra villages

Kiraksal village is in Satara's most drought-prone Maan taluk. Villagers are following the ridge-to-valley method of watershed works. (Photo by Nidhi Jamwal)

As part of the Satyamev Jayate Water Cup 2017, over 1,300 villages in drought-prone areas of Maharashtra are creating water-harvesting structures to overcome chronic water scarcity, particularly during the hot season

Water control is the strongest anti-poverty measure

Farm ponds to harvest and store rainwater could be an optimal solution in some places. (Photo by Aftab Alam)

Once we realize that one size does not fit all, it will be easier for the government and civil society organizations to tailor strategies to manage water in the different agro-climatic regions of the country that truly benefits the rural poor

After the drought, Kerala to chase monsoon to catch rain where it falls

Kerala is a land of water bodies. A state government mission now aims at conserving, cleaning and clearing them up to store water and to aid water transport that the state is known for. The image shows the lagoon of Kadinamkulam in Thiruvananthapuram. (Photo by Climatalk)

After the century’s worst drought, people in Kerala are now getting ready to harvest rain in their backyard wells, temple ponds and lush forests. Citizens, voluntary groups and the state government are ready with a set of measures. It just needs to rain.

Farmers in coastal Tamil Nadu battle drought with smart farming

Balakrishnan Marimuthu dug two farm ponds, with which he grew coconuts to offset paddy loss this year. (Photo by Sharada Balasubramanian)

Farmers of Vedaranayam in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu are surviving the current drought by growing diverse crops that suit their soil, despite the failure of the rains and not getting water from the Cauvery River for many years

Many fellows but not too many ships to anchor

Fellows in rural India need serious handholding to make the effort effective. (Photo by Meghna Mukherjee)

To make fellowships that connect with rural realities really worthwhile, it is necessary to provide pointed guidance through mentors who are ready to engage, a vital aspect that many of the programs are not addressing adequately

Small pumps are a viable solution for poor farmers

A small pump irrigating an onion farm. (Photo by Hamish John Appleby / IWMI)

Although small pumps for irrigation doesn’t get the attention it deserves, evidence from groundwater-rich states such as Assam, Jharkhand and Odisha show that they have significant benefits for small and marginal farmers

Pomegranate spells profits for Maharashtra farmers

Vishwajit Akre of Ranwadi village at his pomegranate farm near Wardha. (Photo by Hiren Kumar Bose)

The consistently high returns from growing pomegranates in Maharashtra, the epicenter of the fruit’s production in India, have seen many farmers adopt it over water-guzzling crops such as sugarcane and cotton

Empowering rural women in Assam through the Internet

Internet Saathis are spreading the benefits of the World Wide Web in rural Assam. (Photo by Abdul Gani)

Women trained in the use of the Internet are fanning across four districts of Assam to bring its benefits to rural women, which in turn is boosting their household earnings and changing everyday lives for the better

Kole farmers of Kerala reel under unprecedented drought

The vast expanse of water has degenerated into smaller water patches upstream of the Enamavu barrage. (Photo by S. Gopikrishna Warrier)

Inadequate freshwater supply from rivers and saline ingress has dealt a double blow to the rice farmers of Kole paddy lands in Kerala even as the state tries to cope with a severe drought

Solar pumps bring relief to smallholder farmers in Rayagada

Smallholder farmers in Rayagada in Odisha are using small solar pumps to irrigate vegetable plots. (Photo by Bikalp Chamola)

Using small solar-powered pumps to irrigate vegetable gardens could transform lives of tribal farmers in Rayagada district of Odisha by boosting farm incomes and stopping seasonal migration to faraway places

Dry land distress drives people to break stones in quarries

Ramswaroop of Badahar village in Bidisha district was diagnosed with tuberculosis at the age of 7. (Photo by Abhijeet Jadhav)

A lack of livelihood opportunities is compelling villagers of Vidisha district in Madhya Pradesh to take up jobs in local stone quarries, where unregulated work conditions are often extremely hazardous for their health

From subsistence farming to agroforestry and prosperity

Farmer Jesuraj of Pudukottai in his farm where he practises agroforestry. (Photo by R. Samuel)

Farmers in the southern reaches of Pudukottai district in Tamil Nadu have turned to agroforestry to protect and boost incomes because falling groundwater levels and overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides had made agriculture unsustainable in the area

Telangana’s tur dal farmers face yet another uncertain season

Getting a good price for tur has become difficult for subsistence farmers. (Photo by ALC India)

The constant swing in the prices of tur dal in Telangana from one year to the next and tardy implementation of the government’s procurement mechanism have made life tough for thousands of subsistence farmers in Kodangal and Husnabad