Cotton-eating monsters lay low the farmers

Cotton farmers in northwest India were taken by surprise when, despite a pesticide blitzkrieg, the American bollworm devastated half their crops. …

Natural resplendence

Scientists in Dharwad, Karnataka, develop coloured cotton, organically

Government's decision on public sector units bad news for neo-liberal economists

A fall-out of neo-liberal economics

Government's relief for Maharashtra farmers not enough

Pro-farmer government shows its colours

Heavy cotton

Following suicides by cotton farmers in various parts of the country, the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Delhi, the National …

Spirit of videshi

By turning our backs on swadeshi, we have left cotton farmers in the lurch

Making of a nightmare

Pakistan faces trying times ahead, as insecticide resistant cotton pests threaten to devastate the country's fledgling economy

Dyeing cotton fabrics is an ancient Indian art

Indian textiles formed an important item in the trade network, the major thrust being on cotton fabrics in vibrant kalamkari patterns. Mastery …

Bt for Better Times?

Good weather, illegal Bt seeds raise Punjab's sagging cotton yields

Farmers in tech trap

Cotton cultivators are on a seed and pesticide treadmill that is draining them of traditional skills  

Poor regulation good reason to sideline Bt brinjal

Fabric of nature

Organic cotton is much in demand across the globe. But lack of support from government agencies may impede its growth

Hanging by a thread

Weavers of renowned Ponduru khadi are abandoning the craft

No pesticides

Farmers can save crops without pesticides. And they can earn more in the deal. sopan joshi records a great change sweeping through Andhra …

Bt-by-Bt assessment

On November 10, 2002, people wearing 'Bollgard' caps visited cotton farmer R Narsimha Reddy at his home in Aleru, a village in Nalgonda, Andhra …

A sticky label

US biotech industry gears up to play dirty in Europe

Organic thread

Even as Bt cotton invaded Indian fields in the past few years, some farmer groups kept pushing for organic cotton. In 2009-10, production in …

Cotton conundrum

The powers that be are hanging fire on Bt cotton despite long and intensive research. Indira Khurana delves into the baffling issue

World Trade Outcry

How inevitable was the collapse of talks at the World Trade Organization? How engineered was it? CLIFFORD POLYCARP reports from the streets and …

Long yarn

The cotton story is a tangled tale. In many parts of India, farmers are committing suicide. It's been a while Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and now …

GM crops: Here to stay

The Indian government is dead keen on GM crops. But what about a policy first?

Where is the sceptical indian scientist?

Maya of Indian Science

Lies, denial and outright fraud have become the hallmark of Indian agricultural research because there is no accountability

Cleaning the cotton stain

ICAR sets up independent investigation into Bt Bikaneri Narma research scam

Keeping cancer alive

Punjab has been in the grip of cancer for over a decade but the government has ignored the threat. Sonal Matharu reports with photographer …