Farms in cities

India is perhaps among the few developing countries where urban agriculture is not a priority. The FAO’s final report on urban and peri-urban agriculture does not even mention India. Urban planners tend to exclude agriculture from their sights. But in many cities across the world, especially those in Asia and Latin America, agricultural use of land is accepted and formalised.

The great divide

First, a refresher of what is commonly known. With 2.4 per cent of the world's land area and 16 per cent of the world's human population, India has 20 per cent of the world's livestock population. Yet, India's share in the total milk production in the world is estimated around 13 per cent. The annual average milk yield of Indian cattle is 51 per cent less than the world average, according to the Union ministry of agriculture's department of animal husbandry and dairying (DAHD).

Grown on waste

Use of wastewater in urban agriculture is critical to farmers' income and food security but raises health risks In the face of growing water scarcity, use of wastewater in agriculture has become inevitable in urban areas of developing countries

Limited

our public sector water providers in cities are bankrupt and cannot augment water resources nor extend networks to the periphery. This is because the rich are subsidised and unaccounted for water is high. Bangalore has been able to get a water augmentation scheme only because the Japanese Development Bank has been generous enough to give its water authority a loan. What is the way out then? Do we privatise water supplies then? If so, how?

It's often a disaster

i would like to disagree with the idea, stated in Down To Earth, that the "private sector can also be asked to set the price and recover dues."

Be cautious

public services, like water supplies, have collapsed in India under a double burden: the rich do not want pay for them and a corrupt bureaucracy ensures supplies hardly reach the poor. So, is privatisation a way out?

Make it different

APOORVA OZA privatisation of drinking water is in full swing in both urban and rural areas of Gujarat. The water industry here is worth about Rs 1,500 crores and is amongst the fastest-growing. And now the water of the Narmada river is going to be supplied to urban areas at a far higher cost than municipal supply. The municipal authorities can now focus on the lower middle class and slum dwellers.

A partial success

subsidies have clearly worked to the detriment of equitable water supplies in the country. And now, studies across the country have shown that people are willing to pay for safe drinking water. This is true of many rural areas as well. But are local governments competent enough to provide this service efficiently?

Check wastage

Let people do it

the current water situation in the country calls for immediate remedies. Down To Earth has hit the nail on its head by suggesting that "[the] rights of communities to control and manage their water must be safeguarded."