Agriculture
Panchkroshi – Maharashtra farmers harness the power of five
Maharashtra farmers are reviving the traditional concept of Panchkroshi, wherein five neighbouring villages come together, to boost sustainability in their drought-hit region.
Turning Kashmir’s potatoes into popular chips
Potato farmers in Kashmir’s Gurez valley hope for better economy and local employment opportunities for the youth after a corporate company’s interest in the Valley’s potatoes.
Kashmir’s cherry farmers battle nature’s fury
Despite the introduction of new varieties and advanced techniques, untimely rainfall has significantly impacted cherry growers in the Valley, affecting their crop after a harsh winter.
This Maharashtra village is home to 10 aromatic rice varieties
Murukate village in Maharashtra grows 10 traditional varieties of rice, with organic fertiliser and the mountain streams that irrigate the fields lending each of them a unique fragrance.
These unschooled Odisha women are running a farm school
Women farmers of Nuaguda village not only work to preserve traditional rice and millet varieties but also run a school to teach others how to follow sustainable agriculture practices.
Tribal woman ushers in organic farming in India’s last village
In Madhupur, a village in Assam close to the Bhutan border, an Adivasi woman’s successful switch to organic farming prompts the entire farming community to follow suit.
Machine eases work, empowers Andhra women labourers
In Srikakulam, zero tillage in maize crop sowing through the double wheel marker reduces workload for women.
Deepening pond to deepen farmers’ pockets
An intervention to make a pond deeper at Surendranagar in Gujarat has brought joy to many farmers in the region by ensuring more water availability and preventing soil erosion.
Sangli’s grape farmers are ‘raisin’ the bar
Farmers harness the suitable climate and grow certain varieties of grapes that can be dried into raisins, elevating Sangli district as India’s raisin hub.
How these farmers grow more crop per drop
In Gujarat’s water deficient areas, farmers opt for micro irrigation systems which reduce their production cost and increase their income.
The state of cattle bell makers of Jharkhand
For years people have been tying bells around the neck of their cattle. Along with beauty, it makes finding cattle in the forests easy. Cattle bells were once a symbol of prosperous rural life, but the use of machines, and dwindling cattle numbers, have reduced the tinkling of the bells.
Die cast for vanishing cowbells of Jharkhand
Blacksmiths practising the ancient art form of making cowbells are struggling to make ends meet as sales have dipped, with rural folks keeping fewer cattle now.
How ‘Canal Man’ channelled strength for Odisha village
Daitari Naik’s Talabaitarani village in Kendujhar district is no longer the parched land where people were forced to drink muddied water. The 3km canal he dug almost single-handedly ensures lush crops all year round.
This is where your cabbage may be coming from
Bara Garan is a remote sleepy hamlet nestled at a height of 2,350m in the Dhauladhar range of the Himalayas. Located in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, Bara Garan had no road connectivity to a nearby town until a couple of decades back. Residents had to walk for a day to reach Barot, the nearest town. But things changed when a road was constructed. Now villagers who earlier grew crops only for self-sustenance are farming cabbage commercially, selling it to traders across north India.
The Kolhapur rice tipping the scale one grain at a time
Nearly a decade after getting the recognition it deserved – bagging a GI tag in 2015 – Maharashtra’s fragrant and slender Ajara Ghansal rice is now becoming the foodie’s favourite.
Overproduction leads to distress sale of cauliflower in Bengal
Vegetable farmers in West Bengal suffer huge losses due to a surplus of cauliflower, never mind high fertiliser and labour costs.
Jharkhand’s tribal girl becomes a farmer, smashes patriarchy with a tractor
In a village steeped in patriarchy, 20-year-old Manju Oraon of Jharkhand – blamed for this year’s drought for daring to become a farmer – sells her smartphone to buy seeds, ploughs through her land and the tribal men’s animosity with a tractor.
Synchronised farming, collective marketing boost farmers’ income in Odisha
Farmers in an Odisha village are reaping rewards from synchronised cultivation and coming together as a collective for purchase and sale of their produce.
Irrigation facilities improve farmers’ lives in Odisha
Many tribal farmers in Odisha were living below the poverty line due to lack of irrigation facilities. New bore wells and farm training are helping them earn more now, according to a Harsha Trust social worker.
Want bumper paddy harvest? Breed fish, say Bihar farmers
Digging ponds to breed fish as a livelihood brings multiple benefits to Patna farmers - fish pond water for irrigation, reduced use of chemicals and reverse migration to name a few.