Forests, fuel and fodder
From deficit to surplus: a success story of joint forest management from Sakwa, a tiny village in south Gujarat
Recognising the role of pastoralists in agrarian development
The farmer-herder relationship of mutual benefit and care is threatened by commercialisation of agriculture
Look back in hope: What America’s Hopi people can teach us about living sustainably
Down To Earth talks to author Daniel Pinchbeck about what the Hopi Native Americans of Arizona can teach the modern world which is warming …
Anantapur farmers take up polycropping to drought-proof agriculture
As a result of natural farming practice that encourages polycropping, groundnut is no more the solo crop in many villages across the district
Let the drylands bloom
By maintaining terrestrial forestation to improve the soils, drylands can be saved from being further degraded
Gender bender
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY IN INDIA: CASES, MATERIALS AND STATUTES By Shyam Divan and Armin Rosencranz •Second edition • Published …
Karanda: Rural India's rich fruit
Karanda is a versatile but under-exploited plant found throughout the dry regions of India. It is cultivated for its edible fruits in Rajasthan, …
Pulses, neglected for long
Despite being a world leader in pulses production, India has been forced to import due to crop loss and seed deficit. The sharp rise in prices is …
Explainer: What is the Farmers Distress Index?
The index will try to anticipate this distress and prevent its spread from a few farmers to the village or block level
How a water project put women in charge and turned the fortunes of a dry Bengal village
With men quitting agriculture to work as unskilled labourers, women lead measures to curb soil erosion
Upturned harvest
On a trip on the outskirts of Jaipur RAVLEEN KAUR finds farmers making money by following an unconventional practice
How India is killing the country’s largest economy of the poor
New restriction on cattle slaughter will severely cripple the livestock economy which is bigger than crop economy; poor farmers shifted to …
Drought in Kenya puts livestock at risk; crop failure triggers fear of starvation
Kenya is prone to drought because only 20 per cent of the country receives adequate and regular rainfall
Stalled monsoon to make little progress before June 25
In spite of unfavourable conditions, IMD expects a major progress of the monsoon in Central India
Orchards in desert
A simple technology assures continuous moisture supply to plants, helps grow orchards in water-scarce areas
It is not a drought but a cumulative outcome of decades of policy sins
It is not deficit monsoon, rather the lack of policies and mechanisms to drought-proof susceptible areas that turn the situation into a crisis
Towards a hopeful agricultural future
In India, no other industry has as many restrictions, controls and blatant discriminations as agriculture
Climate-smart agriculture: an answer to climate change
Sustainably increasing agricultural production, adapting to climate change and reducing emissions are the main points of climate-smart …
African dryland trees store less carbon than believed earlier, finds study
Study by team including NASA scientists estimates carbon stocks of trees in semi-arid sub-Saharan Africa; calculates 840 million …
States told to roll out contingency plans
Plans cover crops, poultry, livestock and fisheries; Centre allows use of funds from agriculture schemes for funding contingency plans
Persistent in folly
Rice and wheat fetch a secure price and subsidies on farm inputs. Coarse grains have no place in the public distribution system, although their …
Rice: the real cost
It is said the future wars would be fought over the issue of water, not land. Yet Indian government promotes rice, which consumes water, over …
Cereal killer
By promotong rice over coarse grains, the government is promoting food scarcity and defeciency of micronutrients among India's most malnourished …
Salted lands of Australia
Bad cropping practices and ill-planned water management leads to salted Australian farmland
Grain of truth
India's public distribution system promotes rice and wheat. These water-intensive crops require more inputs and are less nutritious as compared …