Veggies delight

Ram Oraon blames his grandfather for his frail health and for much of his life spent battling poverty. He has watched his two brothers die young. “They always had poor health,” says the 60-year-old marginal farmer from Malhan Bhuiyadih village near Ranchi.

An oasis put to test

Land grab fallout

Blog Intro:  Scramble to buy land in foreign countries to grow more food leaves more people hungry Scramble to buy land in foreign countries to grow more food leaves more people hungry

The goat gamble

Giyasilal Saini is a marginal farmer who has market savvy. It comes from experience. Living in a semi-arid area like Alwar in Rajasthan, he always knew he could not depend on farming alone. So he would keep some goats, like others in village Jaitpura. Then three years ago the pond that irrigated his tiny field dried up. “Rains have not been enough. I spent a fortune on irrigating my field but could not grow enough for my family,” said the 36-year-old. He devoted his energy to goat rearing.

No two droughts are alike

Why government’s 2009 drought management plan may not work this year

Farmers quit mentha

IT IS back to square one for the farmers of Jalaun district in Uttar Pradesh. Reeling under persistent drought from 2003-08, they were driven to mentha (mint) cultivation that promised good returns. Instead, it increased debts. Cultivation of this water-intensive crop is fast shrinking due to depletion of groundwater and no alternative source of irrigation in drought-prone Bundelkhand region of the state.

When markets do work

Some innovations change lives. A favourite of mine is the village milk collection system, a cooperative model. There's a dairy in the village, people bring in milk, the dairy in-charge places a sample on an instrument, checks the fat content, prints a receipt that tells the seller the fat content and the price.

Coping with drought

I travel in drought-hit Rajasthan. I want to see, and record. What does really happen when an area is hit by drought? It doesn't rain over Rajasthan the way it used to. Less rainfall has led to a drop in groundwater levels. This year, Rajasthan got 208 mm rain. That's 55.8 per cent less than normal (531 mm), and close to last decade's minimum of 197 mm.