Agriculture
‘Super Figs’: Why figs from Western Ghats hills in Pune are high in demand
Figs, guavas, custard apples – fresh or preserved into jam – from the Purandar orchards on the rolling hills of Pune find ready customers in big cities and abroad, leveraging the income of farmers.
Why this woman in Odisha is called a traditional seed guardian
Kudeladu Jani, a tribal farmer in Odisha’s Kandhamal district who’s been conserving traditional seeds for two decades, says they’re precious because they need no chemicals, are nutritious and protect the community’s traditional agro-ecological knowledge.
Cost-effective jalkunds help Manipur’s farmers tide over water woes
With climate-induced erratic rainfall affecting agriculture, the farmers of Manipur turn to jalkunds – low-cost water harvesting structures that go beyond irrigation needs and double their income.
Modern Farming: Growing potatoes on Mars? Ask these Ladakhi women farmers
Growing vegetable crops in covered low tunnels, trenches and unique greenhouses that protect their plants from the hostile elements, women farmers of Changthang, Ladakh take up modern farming to reap huge dividends.
How farmers flourish with community-owned solar-powered irrigation system in UP’s Bahraich
A common eco-friendly solar-powered irrigation system for a group of farmers helps them earn more while weaning them off polluting diesel pumps or relying on rains.
A bus driver now drives farm prosperity
Meet Amol Kadam, a bus driver who is helping his village with farming.
Farmers across India revive folk rice varieties
Cultivation of traditional rice varieties is becoming popular in Chhattisgarh, after a campaign to popularize indigenous paddy strains spreads from Kerala to Himachal Pradesh to West Bengal
Seed guardians of Banswara revive traditional varieties
Village women in Banswara district of Rajasthan are setting an example as organic farmers by adopting and spreading awareness to revive indigenous varieties of crops that boost nutritional security
Can agriculture be profitable and sustainable?
While commercialization of agriculture has led to an increase in profits in South Asia – a region marred by poverty and child malnutrition – short-term benefits may hide long-term risks
Rural India needs a reformed NGO sector
The need of the hour in the non-governmental sector is for the government to keep a transparent check on non-performing NGOs while recognizing and appreciating NGOs and their teams that make a positive contribution towards rural development
Small pumps hold promise for smallholder farmers in Jharkhand
Many small and marginal farmers in Lohardaga and Gumla are using tiny pumps to irrigate vegetable fields, an entrepreneurial model that has potential to increase incomes for smallholders since groundwater is abundant in the state
Kole farmers of Kerala reel under unprecedented drought
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
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
From subsistence farming to agroforestry and prosperity
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
Small water pumps script success story in Assam
A survey conducted in South Kamrup in Assam shows that use of small water pumps for irrigation in an area where groundwater is abundant has resulted in significant increases in earnings for smallholder and marginal farmers
Time has come to rethink the way we irrigate farmland
Rethinking irrigation needs to focus on end results and in exploring every possible way of reaching water to crop roots. For this to happen, perhaps the hegemony of the irrigation bureaucracy needs to come to an end
Anaj Bank frees Dalits from fear of hunger in Bihar
Community managed rice banks in several areas of Patna district in Bihar have released hundreds of Dalit families from the exploitative practices of powerful landlords by ensuring food during the lean season
Are farmers collateral damage of modern economic growth?
People living in villages, who are migrating in large numbers to urban spaces in search of livelihoods, could be victims of our economic development or perhaps the dismal income growth of farm households is semi-deliberate to keep labor costs low
Droughts, floods, and suicides: What Bihar can teach Maharashtra and other states
A deeper dive is needed to draw insights from the low prevalence of farmer suicides in Bihar than in more developed regions of India such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh
Jackfruit enjoys a second spring in Kerala
Growing profusely in the state, jackfruit is no longer a neglected crop in God’s own country because it is fetching high returns for farmers and there’s increasing awareness and acceptance of its many uses