What's the fuss about Bt brinjal?
Mohammad Rafiqul Islam Mondal, director-general of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), is among the handful of people who have …
Chhattisgarh will not allow GM crops
Chandrasekhar Sahu, agriculture minister of Chhattisgarh, is passionate about making farming a viable proposition for farmers. He has written …
Organic goes online
India’s organic food exports have found a new strength—online traceability. Web-based TraceNet can trace an organic product right …
New milky way
Private players are entering the Indian dairy market in a big way. Dairy cooperatives, which ushered in the White Revolution, need to expand and …
‘There is not enough milk’
Amrita Patel was part of the White Revolution that made India self-sufficient in milk. She joined Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers’…
Shift grain bowl status from North to other regions of India
Balwinder Singh Sidhu, agriculture commissioner and chief conservator of soils in Punjab, is known for giving his opinion in a frank and …
Technology interventions that save water
It was early June. Jaspal Ram of Lehra Turkot in district Bathinda of Punjab was busy in his field putting gunny bags filled with mud on a plank …
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 …
Organic Universe
Organic is all the rage. Organic food, cosmetics, clothes and even organic medicines. But mostly it is food. There are speciality stores that …
A rupee's worth
Jyotika Sood reveals how cooperative societies believe in taking an extra rupee from farmers but not sparing 78 paise
Divided over royalty
Should states or private seed companies regulate price of Bt cotton seed?
Participation or takeover?
Private companies now dictate terms in Maharashtra’s agriculture sector. Punjab follows suit
Keeper of grains
An ecologist has been guarding seeds of more than 750 rare rice varieties for over a decade
‘FDI will increase farmers’ earnings by 40-50 per cent’
P Chengal Reddy is general secretary of the Consortium of Indian Farmers Association (CIFA)—an organisation that claims to represent 40 …
Treasure and the tricks
Conserving genetic purity of 750 varieties of rice with limited resources like a small piece of land and no workforce is a major challenge. Debal …
Guar mine
Farmers in Rajasthan make big bucks as shale gas rush boosts demand for little-known cluster bean
Difficult to digest
After much debate, the Cabinet cleared the food security bill. Will it really ensure food for every Indian?
Hailstorm drives farmers to suicide
Over 100 kill themselves as large tracts of crops are damaged; food prices likely to go up
‘Let farmers decide the price’
Mani Chinnaswamy’s contract farming model has prompted IIM graduates to study his Appachi formula. After all, it gives farmers the right to …
Is new land bill up to mark?
Draft land bill proposes higher compensation for land acquisitions, but complaints persist
Agrarian crisis: farmers from 15 states protest at Delhi Jantar Mantar
They demand moratorium on land acquisition; farmers' suicides, falling incomes and GMOs on list of concerns
Everybody’s loss
Delisting fruits and vegetables from APMC Act in Congress-ruled states will not benefit farmers
Not a waste until wasted
Punjab farmers burn straw after harvest. It is time to exploit the potential of this agro-waste
One-sided deal
Contract farming is increasing in India, but laws are not in place to protect farmers