Organic Farming Articles of Interest

  • Human health implications of organic food and organic agriculture: This report reviews the existing scientific evidence regarding the impact of organic food on human health from an EU perspective and the potential contribution of organic management practices to the development of healthy food systems.

  • Declaration of 3rd Kisan Swaraj Sammelan, Hyderabad, april 3rd 2016 (Income guarantee, rights over resources & sustainability in agriculture): We, the delegates of the 3rd Kisan Swaraj Sammelan in Hyderabad during April 1st to 3rd 2016, belonging to numerous people’s movements, farmers’ unions, farmers’ cooperatives, non-governmental organisations and national/regional/state level alliances working on farming related issues, have come together at a time when Indian farming is reeling under severe distress as manifested in unabated farm suicides, increasing debt burden, large displacement of cultivators and serious depletion of groundwater, soil health and biodiversity.

  • SRI: A Practice that transforms the lives of women: Sabarmati Tiki, December 2015: Globally, around a billion people are engaged in rice farming and around half of them are women. They continue to carry out their work mostly barefoot, with their primary tools being their hands. An agro-ecological approach like SRI has reduced the overall burden on the bodies of these women.
  • Poisoned Food, Poisoned Agriculture:October 28, 2015:Colin Todhunter:A peer-reviewed study published last year in the British Journal of Nutrition, a leading international journal of nutritional science, showed that organic crops and crop-based foods are between 18 to 69 percent higher in a number of key antioxidants such as polyphenolics than conventionally-grown crops.
  • Water harvesting system for Small Farms – No electricity – No ground water – no chemicals
  • Organic Agriculture a Viable Option to Feed and Nourish the Planet: Today, 795 million people today are still food insecure and achievement of hunger targets is challenged by issues of access, infrastructure, climate, macroeconomics and political stability.
  • Climate change and the traditional rice varieties:Today evening we received rains with very frightening thunderbolts that never heard before, weather forecast says there is a chance of rains for the next two days. We are worried of rains specially during the day time, most of our rice verities are at the flowering stage now, the rice flowers open by 9 am and close by 3 pm.
  • A Manipur farmer grows black rice that cures cancer:October 28, 2015:Potshangbam Devakanta from Manipur shows the way in conserving the biodiversity of the state, farming around 100 traditional varieties of paddy and rare medicinal plants, finds Manu.
  • Want to double world food production? Return the land to small farmers! : 22nd November 2014: The data show that the concentration of farmland in fewer and fewer hands is directly related to the increasing number of people going hungry every day
  • India farmers’ ‘seeds of suicide’: 200-year old story behind a modern tragedy: Aneela Mirchandani | October 7, 2015: In 1998, a farmer in Warangal, India killed himself after a failed crop by drinking pesticide
  • Modi and Monsanto: a Wake Up Call for India: September 22, 2015: Colin Todhunter: Immediately prior to Narendra Modi being elected India’s PM last year, there were calls from some quarters for him to usher in a Thatcherite-style revolution.
  • Article in Eco Earth Magazine on Organic Farming  : Cover Story and Eco Guru Section Input on Organic Farming in India – contributions
  • Organic farming: August 31, 2015: To understand the resurgence of the concept of organic farming, we need to revisit the era of the Green Revolution (‘State View — “Organic farming caught in ‘quality vs quantity’ debate”, Aug.30).
  • GM cotton really is helping to drive Indian farmers to suicide Dr Eva Sirinathsinghji, 11 August 2015: A new study finds that Indian farmers in rain-fed areas are being driven to suicide from the increased cost of growing Bt GMO cotton varieties that confer no benefits to them.
  • Clonal Propgation_Richharia_Nature_1962, Dr Richharia’s published in NATURE, May 12, 1962.
  • Organic Certification – A Dream for Poor Farmers – Dr. Arun K Sharma Pure and Eco India: Poor and illiterate farmers are unable to benefit from organic cultivation as they cannot afford certification or are unable to file the requisite paper work.  Perhaps a trust based model not recurring certification could be introduced for small scale farmers for short supply chains.
  • Agroecology: Putting Food Sovereignty into Action: Why Hunger is proud to release its first agroecology publication, “Agroecology: Putting Food Sovereignty into Action.” Y en español, “Poner la Soberanía Alimentaria en Práctica”
  • Seed Sovereignty: Vol – L No. 21, May 23, 2015: Parameswaran Prajeesh’s “Farmers’ Rights to Seeds, Issues in the Indian Law” (EPW, 21 March 2015) repeatedly referred to the law, the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR)Act, 2001 as a “progressive” legislation.
  • A hand to the plough: AV Balasubramanian May 18 2015: We need an alternative approach to farming that builds on indigenous knowledge and resources.
  • ‘We will bring urban gardens and organic products to all the parts of the country,’ Purna Organics:Francesca Ferrario | May 03, 2015:According to Mallesh Tingali, Founder of the online market place for organic products Purna Organics, awareness about healthy lifestyles is growing across India and Bengaluru is the “happening place for the organic movement.”
  • Killing fields: May 2, 2015: A. R. Vasav Gajendra Singh Rajput from Dausa. Hargovind Harane from Vidarbha . Gosai Patra from Bardhaman. Why did these farmers take their own lives? In light of the burning issue of farmer suicides across the country, here is a look at the plight of the marginalised cultivator.
  • Organic Nearly as Productive as Industrial Farming, New Study Says: Doug Gurian-Sherman: December 10, 2014: Industrial agriculture has huge, unsustainable impacts on our environment. And while organic and other ecologically based farming systems (agroecology) have huge benefits, some have suggested that it will never produce enough food.
  • The green imperative: Saurav Pahari: 19 April, 2015: The premise of sustaining or preserving the basic assets that provide sustenance for human beings has formed the very bedrock of mankind’s oldest and most haloed civilisations.
  • In India, Profitable Farming with Fewer Chemicals: Sylvia Rowley April 24, 2015: The earth beneath Lakshmi Karre’s sparse cotton crop is hard and dry. Dressed in a flowery orange sari, she squats in the large gap between two plants and tugs at some brittle leaves, turned speckled brown by a fungal disease known as cotton rust.
  • GM food is biggest fraud in history of science: Steven Druker National Geographic has published an excellent interview (below) with attorney Steven Druker, author of the new book, Altered Genes, Twisted Truth, which exposes the fraud and misrepresentation behind the push to genetically modify our food.
  • Pay up, or give up your IP! :Farmers Rights 08 April 2015 : The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act 2001, based on the European seed patenting model, is increasingly proving to be more of a burden on small farmers. Shalini Bhutani explains why.
  • ‘Every seed makes a political statement’ :Manu Moudgil Tuesday, March 10, 2015: What can a tiny seed tell you? A lot, say indigenous seed savers who are looking at it as the only challenge against cultural and political monopoly
  • Cowpathy for Plant Health: Chitra Balasubramaniam: I had heard of panchagavya on a number of occasions, and the usage varied — for auspicious occasions, purification, in temples and also for safeguarding plant, animal and human health.
  • In tune with nature: A Varsha Rao: Oct 7, 2014: Safe Harvest, an organisation promoting non-pesticide farming, is the reason behind many happy farmers in north Karnataka
  • Pesticide Content in the Food We Consume Poses High Risk of GI Cancer: 06th October 2014: By Suhas Yellapantula: Hyderabad: The food we eat has a direct effect on our health and those around us. This is why it makes it all the more vital for us to take a note of the choices made by those who grow and harvest the food we eat.
  • Towards healthy soils – organic matter matters: Deadline: 1 December 2014 :Farming Matters | 30.3 | September 2014 As a south Indian farmer said, “soil is the mother of agriculture, the mother of life”. And 2015 is the International Year of Soils.
  • Bt brinjal commercialisation: October 2, 2014:The bangladesh agricultural research institution is a public institution under the agriculture ministry and is obliged to serve public interest.
  • Can India break its dependence on pesticides? BBC: 25 September 2014: New recommendations on dealing with the residues of pesticides in food are expected to be made by the UN’s food and health agencies.
  • GM field trial monitoring committees exist only on paper, members unaware of its existence: Aritra Bhattacharya: The apparatus responsible for monitoring field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops is in a shambles, an investigation by The Statesman has revealed.
  • Unique Revolution – Organic Farming (Anuthi Kranti – Jaiveek Kheti Ka Palna (Hindi)
  • US is trying to control our food production: Pushpa M Bhargava: August 07, 2014 :While virtually every statement made by G Padmanaban in India should not shut itself to GM crops (August 7) can be contradicted by incontrovertible facts, I will confine my remarks to the following points that would argue against his major contentions.
  • The Galileo syndrome? : Prakash Javadekar: Aug 08, 2014: ‘Galileo was telling the truth and he was punished.’ Monsanto and its lobbyists are today’s Church. And independent scientists speaking the truth about GMOs and their impact on society, health and environment are today’s Galileos.
  • Why do we need GM crops? : Aug 5th, 2014 : Gilles-Eric Serilani is a professor at the University of Caen in Normandy in France. Two years back, in 2012, he published a research paper that created a scientific uproar across the globe.
  • Organic Agriculture Programming for Sustainability in Primary sector of India: Action and Adoption   that Published in PRODUCTIVITY, a journal of National Productivity Council, Govt. of INDIA.  Programming generally used in computer science that interrelate all the  components   such a way so that not only it proved  to be use friendly but also  fast in execution.
  • The alternative food crop: Suhas Yellapantula: 31st July 2014: BANGALORE: Millets are highly nutritious food crops which consume very less amount of natural resources like water and soil nutrients compared to other cereals and are resilient to climate changes. Ironically over years, these crop areas are declining due to state agriculture policy that promotes the growth of paddy and others, ignoring multiple benefits of millets.
  • Exposing Monsanto: Herbicide Linked to Birth Defects – the Vitamin A Connection: Monday, 28 July 2014:Jeff Ritterman, M.D., Truthout: Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup, with glyphosate as the primary ingredient, has recently been linked to a fatal kidney disease epidemic ravaging parts of Central America, India and Sri Lanka. A leading theory hypothesizes that complexes of glyphosate and heavy metals poison the kidney tubules.
  • Genetically modified crops’ field trials put on hold:Nitin Sethi & Archis Mohan/New Delhi 30 Jul 14:In a move that marks the first successful policy intervention of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch and Bharatiya Kisan Sangh — both affiliates of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) — the Narendra Modi-led central government has put field trials of genetically-modified (GM) crops on hold.
  • Switch to millets to tackle climate change, farmers told: PUDUKOTTAI, July 28, 2014 M.J. Prabu: A two-day workshop on millets, organised on the Kolunji eco-farm at Odugampatti near Pudukkottai recently, urged farmers to shift to alternative crops in view of the recurrent drought caused by climate change.
  • When tribal women make farming look so easy: Sarada Lahangir, Odisha: Women like Manima make Prabhakar Adhikari, director, Pragati, very proud. He says, “Tribal women have lot of potential as farmers since they have a great deal of indigenous knowledge. They are also hardworking and receptive to change. They only need to be guided in the right direction.”
  • Living Farm’s awareness on forest protection has provided food for tribals: Sarada Lahangir    Rayagada: 28 Jul 2014: Since 2012, 20 women from Patangpadar have come together and formed four informal groups of five members each, who fan out in the jungles on a rotation basis, armed with lathis (sticks) and axes.
  • Erasing Lines and Providing Solutions: Naresh Kumar, The New Indian Express July 17, 2014: Food Sovereignty Alliance (FSA) has been in existence across 13 districts in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana since 2013. It brings onto a common platform – Adivasi, Dalit, Pastoralist and Peasant social movements along with co-producers, to build solidarity with one another for a common vision of food sovereignty and they screened “Breeding Invasions….Lives[stock] at stake” at Lamakaan on Sunday evening followed by an open forum.
  • A fruit for all seasons: B Salome Yesudas & Bichitra Biswal: Jul 31, 2014: Wild mango is not just part of the daily diet of tribal people in Odisha; it also helps them survive the lean season
  • Fine print of the food wars: Vandana Shiva:Jul 16, 2014: Creating ‘ownership’ of seed through patents and intellectual property rights and imposing it globally through the WTO, the biotech industry has established a monopoly empire over seed and food
  • A year on, no lessons learnt from Bihar mid day meal tragedy:Jyotika Sood & Alok Gupta: Jul 16, 2014: Civil society calls for pesticide-free, organic food under government programmes for children while Bihar focuses on building new kitchens in government schools
  • Work the millet magic: Visakhapatnam, July 14, 2014: A bowl of ‘kheer’ and ‘vegetable pulao’ made of foxtail millet (‘korralu’), ‘phulkas’ rolled out by kneading pearl-millet (‘sajjalu’) flour, mixed vegetable ‘subji’ with zero per cent oil, curd-soaked sorghum (‘jonna’), tangy dips dished out using ‘thota-kura’ and curry leaves, and a bland salad with cooked ‘bobbarlu’, ‘kabuli chana’, and green gram.
  • Growing faith in organics: July 14, 2014: Adding fuel to the debates over the merits of organic food, a comprehensive review of earlier studies found substantially higher levels of antioxidants and lower levels of pesticides in organic fruits, vegetables and grains compared with conventionally grown produce. “It shows very clearly how you grow your food has an impact,” said Carlo Leifert, a professor of ecological agriculture at Newcastle University in England, who led the research. If you buy organic fruits and vegetables, you can be sure you have, on average, a higher amount of antioxidants at the same calorie level.
  • Organic foods may help prevent cancer: Study: IANS | Jul 12, 2014: Washington: Organic foods and crops have a suite of advantages over their conventional counterparts, including more antioxidants, fewer, less frequent pesticide residues, and properties that may help prevent cancer, a study suggests.
  • Security vs. Sovereignty Stories from the cotton land in Karnataka: Laura Valencia and Aditi Pinto : Jun 20, 2014:The story behind why few cotton farmers are ready to give Mahyco (Monsanto) the boot once and for all, contrary to the slogan “Mahyco out of Karnataka”
  • Indigenous crops gain ground in Adilabad:S. Harpal Singh Adilabad, June 16, 2014ADILABAD, June 16, 2014: There is a need for promotion of local varieties on a commercial scale, says expert
  • Grow food anywhere: Jun 30, 2014: Aparna Pallavi: With innovative use of space, people in cities are reclaiming their right to safe food
  • Kerala farmers fight to preserve world’s only variety of salt-resistant rice – and the ecosystem: kamayani Bali mahabal: June 15, 2014: As Scroll.in’s Mridula Chari and Harsha Vadlamani search for clouds along the west coast, they meet farmers who are attempting to return to a traditional system of alternating paddy and shrimp cultivation.
  • Short variety jamun cultivation fetches good rewards: M.J. Prabhu, The Hindu | June 12, 2014: Agriculture is a profession of patience. Apart from the time, labour and financial investment, passion is an important attribute to be successful. “An optimistic attitude is what sets successful farmers apart from the usual herd. Because a method might fail once, twice or even several times, but the grit and determination to continue trying the same can prove to be rewarding after some time. Mr. C. Jayakumar a jamun grower from Dindugal is a good example of all this,” says Mr. N. Madhu Balan, Assistant Director, Agriculture, Government of Tamil Nadu.
  • Honeybee Death Rate is currently too High for Survival of the Species: June 3, 2014 by Cassius Methyl: A government report released last week surprisingly admits that the honeybee species are dying off at a rate too high to ‘guarantee their long term survival.
  • A Silent Revolution Grows in the Farm: Devinder Sharma, Tehelka Magazine | June 6, 2014:It was a hot afternoon. Even as temperature soared to 37 degree Celsius, I didn’t see enthusiasm draining among farmers wanting to exchange traditional rice seeds. They pushed and jostled for space to make their presence felt. For two days (30-31 May) they had camped in Athirengam village in Thiruturaipondi taluk of Thiruvarur district in Tamil Nadu, and they didn’t want to return without getting their share of native varieties of rice seeds.
  • Pest Control: Wednesday, June 4 , 2014:The European Union has banned the import of Indian mangoes as they failed to pass its stringent biosecurity regulations. Does India too need tougher biosecurity laws to protect its crops from pests and diseases? Varuna Verma finds out
  • GM crops – no gain for small farmers in Pakistan:Small farmers, who constitute the majority of South Asian farmers do not benefit from GM crops, says Pervaiz Amir: 30/05/14: In May 2014, a Pakistani court directed the national bio-safety committee to suspend issuance of new licences for growing GM crops until there was a proper legislative framework and adequate facilities for testing and screening.
  • GMO Scientist Switches to Breeding Organic Cotton: 03 Jun, 2014: Ken Roseboro: It’s rare that a plant breeder goes from developing genetically modified crops at a major biotechnology company to breeding varieties for organic and non-GMO farmers. Jane Dever, associate professor at Texas A&M’s AgriLife Research and Extension Center, is unique in having done just that. As global cotton breeding manager for Bayer CropScience, Dever put GM traits into cotton plants. Now she focuses on keeping GM traits out of organic cotton varieties.
  • Agriculture Reforms 28 May 2014 :Can farmers look ahead to “acche din” as well? Narendra Modi’s attention to the woes and plight of farmers during election campaigning has raised a lot of hope for improvement among members of the beleaguered community, but can he deliver? Devinder Sharma presents an 11-point prescription for turning the agricultural sector around.
  • Monsanto, Syngenta and Bayer Crop Science: The GMO Biotech Sector can’t win the Scientific Debate. Co-optation, Deception and Collusion: Sunday, 11 May 2014: Paterson’s support for GMOs is being carried out in partnership with a number of institutions, including the Agricultural Biotechnology Council (ABC), which is backed by GM companies such as Monsanto, Syngenta and Bayer CropScience (5).
  • Conserving indigenous rice varieties for posterity: December 24, 2011:R. Krishna Kumar: This organic farmer has ploughed a lonely furrow.
  • The Grist article reports:1 out of 3 Organic Farmers Report Problems caused by GMO contamination; Crops Rejected: Organic farmers face with major issues with GMO contamination from neighboring farms. A recent Grist.org article states that 1/3 of farmers have seen GMO contamination and half of them have had crops rejected because of it.
  • Indian Agrarian Crisis: Food Livelihoods Environment: December 22, 2012; Reviving the lost legacy Rice is life for thousands of people. At a time when the country debates a second green revolution in the eastern states, here is a story of a farmer, Ghani Khan, who is shrugging off modern hybrid rice seeds to return to more nutritious and health traditional rice seed.
  • Tipu Sultan’s sweet gift: By Aparna Pallavi: Apr 15, 2011: Karnataka farmer conserves mangoes lost 150 years ago.
  • Farmers Abandoning GMO Seeds and the Reason Will Surprise You: January 23rd, 2014: Off the Grid News: Daniel Jennings:A growing number of farmers are abandoning genetically modified seeds, but it’s not because they are ideologically opposed to the industry.
  • The Culture of Eating Right: Devinder Sharma :March 7, 2014, Issue 11 Volume 11 As diverse as the country, as numerous as its people, a special food festival celebrates the rich and plentiful Adivasi culture
  • Jay Mazoomdar on Moily and GM controversy:Thanks Mr Moily, for Disregarding Science and Common Sense: Jay Mazoomdaar | Grist Media – Fri 7 Mar, 2014:For years the government has failed to convince the public or the Supreme Court’s expert panel about the safety of field trials for genetically modified crops.
  • A gene threat on our plate: Published in Tehelka Magazine, Volume 11 Issue 11, 15 March 2014: A long detailed piece by a biomedical researcher who wants to remain anonymous. While the initiative needs to be appreciated, it is also an indication of the lack of courage in the Indian scientific community to come out in the open and talk about this technology.
  • Making a case for organic farming: Dr Vandana Shiva: The most effective and low-cost strategy for addressing hunger and malnutrition is through organic farming, which enriches soil. A nutrient-rich soil gives us nutrient-rich food
  • Green Tide Rising The ebb is over now…. Miguel Braganza:Agricultural production in Goa is showing a dismal downturn, but optimistically the trend towards healthy eating and lifestyle is on the upsurge. Several efforts to develop organic farming around Goa have yielded significant results as many people are turning to green house farming earning a hadsome living in the process
  • Organic Farmers and Soil Health: September 23, 2013: Claude Alvares: SPWD’s Lovraj Kumar Memorial Panel Discussion on ‘Soil Health and SustainableAgriculture’
  • MAINSTREAMING AGROECOLOGY: IMPLICATIONS FOR GLOBAL FOOD AND FARMING SYSTEMS: DISCUSSION PAPER article:By the Centre for Agroecology and Food Security, U.K.: The challenge of feeding the world’s growing population without further damaging the natural resource base is becoming increasingly urgent, and must be met in ways that also allow adaptation to and mitigation of climate change.
  • Sahaja Samrudha: Creating fair markets for good produce:The Alternative | February 12, 2014:Desi Krushikara Balaga (DKB) is one of the pioneering Sandbox initiatives launched by Sahaja Samrudha, a farmer collective established in 2001 to exchange seeds, knowledge and ideas around sustainable agriculture, in partnership with the Deshpande Foundation in the Hubli Sandbox.
  • Rice at risk: M Suchitra: Feb 15, 2014: Paddy faces stiff competition from banana and coconut in many parts of Kerala
  • An informative oped by Devinder Sharma in Amar Ujala on why APMC Act should not be done away with: Devinder Sharma: Feb 9, 2014: It would be a loss of farmers
  • Time to sow the seeds of sustainable farming:Hindustan Times: Devinder Sharma: Feb 10, 2014: With no yield advantage and no reduction in pesticide applications, the PM’s espousal of GM crops is misplaced
  • Shifting to organic breeding: Devinder Sharma, Feb 7, 2014: Instead of reducing the usage, molecular breeders are conveniently dovetailing pesticides tolerance into GM crop varieties.
  • Prime Minister ignores the facts Openly bats for dangerously risky GM crop technology: Feb 6, 2014:  Devinder Sharma:The day after Prime Minister openly came out in support of the dangerously risky GM technology, Monsanto stocks rose by 5.45 per cent.
  • How central Indian tribes are coping with climate change impacts: Aparna Pallavi:Jan 10, 2014: Faced with crop losses because of erratic rainfall and extreme weather, tribal farmers of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh turn to bewar and penda forms of cultivation that keeps them nourished all times of the year, but government agencies are bent on rooting out these farm practices.
  • GM CONTROVERSY: Seeds of doubt: Darryl D’Monte: 31 January 2014: The effect of GM crops on food, agriculture and farmers continues to be highly controversial, polarising scientists and policy-makers alike.
  • Lessons from Italy for the Indian farmer – The Coldiretti Debate: Keya Acharya: 30 January 2014: Italian farmer group Coldiretti is ushering in a new paradigm in farming, and has emerged as a powerful lobby for the interests of the small farmer.
  • Messiah of organic revolution: Here, organic farmer RAMASAMY SELVAM who first met Nammalvar in 1993, talks about his association with this icon of sustainable farming who passed away on December 30, 2013, while leading a campaign against the plan to extract methane gas in Cauvery delta.
  • NL IAHA English version: With great pleasure we release the NL IAHA 2, the first Edition dedicated to Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • Miracles born from simplicity- Bhaskar Save, the Gandhi of natural farming;coevolvewithkiran; 24th Jan, 2014: Indeed, Save’s farm is a veritable food forest; and a net supplier of water, energy and fertility to the local eco-system, rather than a net consumer.
  • Torch bearers for millet seed security: Jan 19, 2014: Deccan Herald:The National Biodiversity Authority has recognised 30 villages in Zaheerabad of Medak district of Andhra Pradesh that grow traditional and fast-disappearing millets as Agricultural Biodiversity Heritage Site (ABHS).  
  • Promoting Organic Farming Logically and Holistically: Volume -1, Issue-4 (October-December), 2013: Arun K. Sharma: Organic farming is a holistic production system runs with the efficient use and recycling of locally available resources.
  • How Renewable Energy and Organic Farming Helped Revitalize a Small Italian Town :January 6, 2014 Laurie Guevara-Stone Rocky Mountain Institute:The practice of organic ways of farming and use of renewable energy can energize a family and a township too!
  • Organic flavour of the year: Bangalore, December 29, 2013: Bangalore sees a revival of its garden city status with people growing their own food at home, finds BHUMIKA K.
  • Tilling and toiling the organic way: Pushpa Achanta, Dec 21, 2013, WFS:Do you consider agriculture in India a male occupation? Think again. The fact is that 79 per cent of working women are agricultural workers.
  • Interview Vandana Shiva: Monsanto enters a country illegally: Why should countries like Nepal with a predominantly traditional agricultural base be concerned about the entry of a company like Monsanto in its territory?
  • Organic change: Features » Sunday Magazine: December 21, 2013: In Pollachi, a couple fights to create an ethical brand of weaves: right from organic cotton and farmer welfare to revival of designs and documenting the process.
  • How to Compost in Your Apartment: Kaye Spector | December 16, 2013 : Live in an apartment or condo and think you can’t compost because you don’t have a large backyard?
  • Campaign to conserve local varieties of food crops: Khammam, December 14, 2013: P. Sridhar: A plan is on the anvil to prepare biodiversity registers for Gondigudem and Alligudem villages under the supervision of the experts of the NBPGR soon, said Syed Subhani, Secretary, ASHA.
  • Stop Pesticide Poisonings: Time travel through international pesticide policies (2nd edition): December 19, 2013 Ramoo: A new edition of the popular PAN Germany publication “Stop Pesticide Poisonings! A time travel through international pesticide policies” is now available.
  • Celebrating a Revival:November 26, 2013: Articles, Storytelling : Something very interesting is happening in North East India.
  • Organic farmer shows the way in paddy cultivation: G. Nagaraja: ELURU, December 12, 2013: Innovative techniques have helped Satish Babu withstand the onslaught of successive cyclones
  • Yield and Economic Performance of Organic and Conventional Cotton-Based Farming Systems – Results from a Field Trial in India: December 04, 2013: The debate on the relative benefits of conventional and organic farming systems has in recent time gained significant interest
  • India: Direct cash transfers is aimed at dismantling food procurement, and moving away from food self-sufficiency.: Devinder Sharma;Dec 19, 2012: A World Bank working paper, entitled: “Conditional Cash Transfers, Political Participation and Voting Behaviour,” studied the voting behaviour for a conditional cash transfer programme launched in Colombia just before the 2010 elections.
  • Greens moot support system for small farmers:Special Correspondent: Thiruvananthapuram, December 5, 2013: The debate around the conservation of western ghats has taken a new turn with enviornmental groups and politicians coming up with a middle path that will protect the rich yet fragile mega diversity hotspot and at the same time protect the interest of the farmers who are the closest to it. This development is also interesting as it talks about helping the farmer conserve and the larger society supporting her/him for the ecosystem services she/he is providing.
  • Farmers, NGOs rally for dissolution of WTO: Tassia Sipahutar, The Jakarta Post | Business | Wed, December 04 2013:Seeking food sovereignty: Several activists from India stage a demonstration at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center on Tuesday. They were demanding food sovereignty, food security and protection for small and marginalized farmers.
  • Paddy Scales New Height on Ex-MLA’s Farm:  M Niyas Ahmed – DHARMAPURI; 02nd December 2013: Though normal paddy varieties grow up to a maximum height of one foot, K Mathappan’s farmland at Kettukottai village of Bikkanahalli panchayat presents a rare sight.
  • Updated “PAN International List of Highly Hazardous Pesticides” available: Hamburg – November 2013
  • Farmers demand India pull out of Bali ministerial of WTO; Jaideep Shenoy, TNN Dec 3, 2013: WTO is ushering in a regime where it is imports all the way.
  • Seed is sovereignty; November 30, 2013; Metroplus » Society: New Delhi-based Gene Campaign works for conservation of genetic resources of the Global South. Its founder Suman Sahay says it’s time to take the debate on genetically modified food to the people
  • Are GMOs killing off bees all over the world? Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013; Arvind Kumar; India is yet to awaken to these dangers as the main narrative has centred around cotton crops.
  • 12 places where you can buy organic food in Hyderabad: Today, getting all organic food in Hyderabad has become enormously easier with the emergence of plenty of new initiatives in India.  Sejal Parikh 18th Nov: The growing consumer demand for organic food
  • Indian scientific community for stopping open air releases of GMOs –New Delhi, 21st November, 2013: Highlights growing scientific evidence on adverse impacts;
  • Drift in agriculture research; By K P Prabhakaran Nair; 20th November 2013: In summer when we have severe water scarcity, even for drinking, besides for our marginal farming, can we get some from the moon, where scientists said water is available in plenty more than five years ago?”
  • From Farm to Fork: Where are the Women Farmers?; Pratibha Singh & Avantika Lal; Women constitute more than fifty percent of Indian farmers and sixty percent of the workforce in the farming centre.
  • Great rural land rush: 3 to 100-fold rise in farm land prices may not bode well; By M Rajshekhar, ET Bureau | 12 Nov, 2013; For the longest time, the price of farmland in Vadicherla stayed below Rs 20,000 an acre. Ten years ago, that began to change.
  • Climate Summit: Don’t turn farmers into ‘climate smart’ carbon traders! Thursday, 07 November 2013; Media release of La Vía Campesina | GRAIN | ETC Group “We are directly opposed to the carbon market approach to dealing with the climate crisis,”
  • ‘Bengaluru Seed Festival: Celebrating the rich heritage of traditional seed diversity’ on September 28-29, 2013. Hope, it will inspire you to organise seed mela in your area.
  • Indian climate change activist wins Commonwealth Youth Award: Press Trust of India; Oct 19, 2013; A Indian climate change activist who works with local communities and governments for environmental change has been awarded the Commonwealth Youth Award.
  • Meet Navi Mumbai’s urban farmers: Reza Noorani, TNN Oct 19, 2013, Buying organic vegetables from a local mart and getting your hands dirty while planting some for your own consumption are two different things.
  • Science under siege: Latha Jishnu and Jyotika Sood; Oct 15-31, 2013: Agricultural science has ossified in India. Despite a vast network of public research institutions and agriculture universities across the country, nothing of significance has emerged from this system to galvanise farming in recent decades, barring perhaps new strains of basmati rice.
  •  “Seeds for Life: scaling up agrobiodiversity”: co-produced with the African Biodiversity Network and the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance: The Gaia Foundation in collaboration with Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA) and the African Biodiversity Network (ABN), :These strategies are critical for us all today
  • An Interesting and informative documentary on GM – Seeds of Death: Every single independent study conducted on the impact of genetically modified food shows that it damages organs, it causes infertility, it causes immune system failure, it causes holes in the GI tract, and it causes multiple organ system failure.
  • After veggies, Bangalore now turns to organic meat: Shyama Krishna Kumar – 16th October; It’s Eid-ul-Adha today, the second most important festival for Muslims after Ramzan, and the tempting aroma of mutton kormas and biryanis will be wafting from homes and eateries alike. Bangalore’s love for spicy biryani and grilled meats is no secret with kiosks and restaurants specialising in just these, dotting many localities.
  • GMOs, A Global Debate: Linked to India’s Farmer Suicides: Venus Upadhayaya, Epoch Times | October 12, 2013: Farmer suicides are too common in India. Some say the rise of genetically modified crops is to blame.
  • Amidst Global Effort to Outlaw Farm-Saved Seed, Traditional Seeds Provide Hope for Future: Devinder Sharma; Oct 3, 2013: Slowly and steadily, farmers in India are shifting towards traditional seeds in India.
  • Why onion prices will singe consumers again & again:M Rajshekhar, ET Bureau Oct 1, 2013, 05; Onions are the second-most consumed vegetable in India, after potatoes.
  • Sunderbans women sow faith in the land: Ajitha Menon: October 3, 2013; Animal husbandry is a vital component of integrated farming.
  • Organic Food Market in India Set for Incessant Growth, Finds TechSci Research Report: (PRWEB) September 30, 2013; Organic foods are produced through systematic farming methods that do not involve any usage of pesticides and harmful chemicals for production.
  • Desi cotton set for a revival: Ananda Teertha Pyati, September 3, 2013; Traditional Indian cotton varieties have gradually ceded ground to their American counterpart after Independence. Now, a movement is on to bring them back and solve the food security issue plaguing farmers, says Ananda Teertha Pyati.
  • Health food for rupee 1: Sreelatha Menon: September 28, 2013; the food security Act’s provision for millets to every household is a magic bullet to attack malnutrition
  • Local seeds best bet against climate change: Madurai, September 20, 2013; They need less water, no fertilizer and hardly any care or attention
  • Seedman from UP to host agricultural experts from across the world: Rajiv Mani; Sep 19, 2013, ALLAHABAD: With his extraordinary contribution to indigenous farming despite his humble background and failure to pass class X, Jai Prakash Narain is living proof that brilliance does not necessary flow through books.
  • India: Organic taking root in the cities: Nina Osswald; Monday, 23.09.2013;Until a few years ago, organic produce from India mostly went into export markets such as Europe and the US. It is only more recently that sales figures in the domestic market have started to surpass exports.
  • Mendha Lekha residents gift all their farms to gram sabha: Aparna Pallavi; Sep 7, 2013, Village does away with private ownership of land, saying it will lead to a stronger community.
  • Creative juices: Pavitra Jayaraman, Thu, Sep 12 2013, Chef and food writer Das Sreedharan on bringing Rasa to India and his plans to start a culinary ‘gurukul’:  An interview
  • One-third of food worldwide gets wasted: FAO, September 12, 2013 00:19 IST, The U.N. food agency says one-third of all food produced in the world gets wasted.
  • Poisoned by the lure of money: Jayshree Chander, September 10, 2013: Far from banning dangerous pesticides like monocrotophos which caused the school lunch deaths, India is quickly emerging as one of their biggest manufacturers
  • Putting the Cartel before the Horse…and Farm, Seeds, Soil, Peasants: A Report on the State of Corporate Concentration: ETC Group News Release 10 September 2013, ETC Group identifies the major corporate players that control industrial farm inputs.
  • Creating a Self-Sustainable Vedic Food Forest: Gajanand Agarwal, September 10, 2013: Check out the blog post ‘A GROUNDBREAKING new Irish technology which could be the greatest breakthrough in agriculture since the plough is set to change the face of modern farming forever.’
  • Farm Fresh: Magazine | Aug 31, 2013; To promote organic and sustainable farming. Links with 5,000 organically growing farmers in five states
  • Desi cotton set for a revival: Ananda Teertha Pyati, September 3, 2013; Traditional Indian cotton varieties have gradually ceded ground to their American counterpart after Independence. Now, a movement is on to bring them back and solve the food security issue plaguing farmers, says Ananda Teertha Pyati.
  • Pesticides Endanger the Health of Ecosystems and the Livelihoods of Rural Communities: Chela Vázquez Saturday, August 31, 2013, “Pesticides, and particularly the systemic neonicotinoid insecticides, are causing havoc with natural and agricultural ecosystems”
  • Women take over fields abandoned by men: Madurai, August 21, 2013 S. Poorvaja, The journey for many of these women hasn’t been smooth.
  • Traditional know how to be showcased in ‘Nattupolima‘ : TNN Aug 17, 2013, 05.53AM IST, Kerala Jaiva Karshaka Samithi, a group of organic farmers, have decided to organize a programme for creating public awareness on the benefits of traditional food and lifestyle.
  • Organic substitutes for endosulfan effective: KAU – K. Santhosh – THRISSUR, July 27, 2013 Intercropping in cashew estates mooted for better results
  • China’s Bad Earth – THE SATURDAY ESSAY – July 27, 2013 – Industrialization has turned much of the Chinese countryside into an environmental disaster zone, threatening not only the food supply but the legitimacy of the regime itself.
  • Loss of Bees Bad for Plants – By Chris Palmer | July 23, 2013 Removing just a single bee species from an ecosystem can decrease the ability of the remaining species to pollinate plants
  • How effective is pesticide regulation in India? – E. Kumar Sharma – July 30, 2013 – The recent tragedy, in which some 25 children died after eating pesticide-laced mid-day meal in school in Saran, Bihar, is being seen as a wake up call to ensure safe manufacture, storage, distribution and use of pesticides.
  • The fight for your plate – Smruti Koppikar, July 29, 2013 – Conventional wisdom would have you pick the first item in every category. That’s if you knew which banana, rice and mustard in the market was the natural organism and which genetically modified. The idea of choice works when there’s information to make it.
  • NCRB data’s reported fall in farmer suicides spurious: P. Sainath – Shiv Sahay Singh – July 27, 2013 ‘Chhattisgarh, West Bengal said to have not filed suicide figures from their respective States’
  • The deep water crisis – P. Sainath – July 28, 2013 The Hindu Hard-working rig-operators are providing a real response to a very real demand from farmers, but with grave consequences for groundwater supplies
  • Punjab’s new agro policy will be a drain on hope – Chander Suta Dogra – July 28, 2013 Groundwater meets three quarters of the State’s farming needs
  • The poison pill in India’s search for cheap food – Agency: Reuters – Sunday, Jul 28, 2013, In the school tragedy, police suspect the children’s lunch was cooked in oil that was stored in a used container of monocrotophos.
  • Time for Climate Season – Richard Mahapatra Jul 15, 2013 A Nepal School that imparts practical knowledge to farmers.
  • The Genetically Modified bandwagon –  K P  Prabhakaran Nair, July 25, 2013 Despite controversies and concerns over the technology of genetically modified crops (GM crops), a selection committee headed by MS Swaminathan very recently decided to give the US $250,000 World Food Prize jointly to the Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Monsanto, Robert T Fraley, Marc Van Montagu, Founder of Institute of Plant Biotechnology Outreach in Belgium, and Mary-Dell Chilton, Founder and Fellow of Syngenta.
  • The Secret Lives of Mangoes – By Sopan Joshi on July 9, 2013 In the worst mango season in a decade, our writer finds himself in the middle of an orchard of the famous Rataul variety. In the grip of its sweetness, he begins a journey. To where? Does it matter? From the birds to the bees, from summer memories to gorging on small craft varieties, from Pathans to hijras to zamindars, from the history of its culture to the history of its tastes, he extols, he exults
  • At WTO, India will face price catch – M.K. Venu, July 23, 2013 – The country has to primarily convince the U.S. that Food Security Ordinance will not violate Agreement on Agriculture
  • South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies – Trent Brown, 09 July, 2013 – India and the Age of Crisis: The Local Politics of Global Economic and Ecological Fragility
  • When Leelabai runs the farm – P. Sainath, The Hindu July 17, 2013 – In a region of poor yields, a gritty woman farmer succeeds even in years of crop failure. But high costs are depleting Vidarbha’s success stories.
  • Dal Will Tell You What the Government Cares About – Bhavdeep Kang, Grist Media, Wed 17 July, 2013 – The proposed Food Security Bill will likely raise the demand for dal across India. While farmers and consumers are against it, the government keeps favouring the agri-industry and importing more and more cheap versions to offset rising inflation. But why won’t India produce its own dal anymore?
  • The flip side of agricultural growth in Madhya Pradesh – Sachin Kumar Jain, July, 10, 2013 – Agricultural growth rate figures in the state appear to be unrealistic if one considers farm suicides and increase in number of landless farm labourers
  • Seed rites and farming right -Kavitha Kuruganti, 14th July, 2013 -It’s about sowing the seeds of change. On May 25, while others in the country celebrated Buddha Poornima, a small cluster of villages in Chennekothapalli area of Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh celebrated Molakala Punnami, a traditional and unique seed festival….. Seedlings Fullmoon Day.
  • Nature’s writ & gene monopolised crops -The Statesman, 22 July, 2013 – After failing to push through Bt-brinjal in India, Monsanto shifted sights to Philippines and Bangladesh. While it lost the battle in the island nation, the jury is still out in Bangladesh. People there must pull out all stops to counter the threat, writes tushar chakraborty
  • Vegetables in the backyard – Shree Padre, June 26, 2013 – A retired physician in small-town Manipal in Karnataka sets an example in kitchen gardening and highlights the many benefits it brings apart from the yield itself. Shree Padre brings us his remarkable story.
  • Farmers shrink, labourers swell – Jyotika Sood, May 31, 2013 – Displacements, lack of jobs are the main reasons behind increase in farm labour. Since 2001 more than 10,000 people have been joining the agricultural labour force of India each day. As a result, the country’s 30 per cent working population, 144.3 million, is agricultural labour, which works on farms. The number of farmers has dipped from 127.3 million in 2001 to 118.7 million in 2011. The figures are from the latest report of Census of India.
  • Research document on analysis of liquid manures – Please contact Dr. Devkumar – 9480037879 [email protected]   for  more details. Dr. Devakumar is ASHA network scientist member.
  • Become iron woman, eat veggies – Aparna Pallavi, May 31, 2013 – As government fails to tackle anaemia, NGOs in Maharashtra help women increase haemoglobin by raising kitchen gardens
  • Shocking betrayal on Western Ghats – An open letter from Madhav Gadgil says Kasturirangan panel report will rob the region of its biodiversity Dear Dr. K. Kasturirangan, J.B.S. Haldane, the celebrated 19th-century scientist and humanist who quit England protesting its imperialistic invasion of Suez to become an Indian citizen, once said: “Reality is not only stranger than we suppose, but stranger than we CAN suppose!” I could never have imagined that you would be party to a report such as that of the High Level Working Group on Western Ghats, but, then, reality is indeed stranger than we can suppose!
  • What’s in your food? – Geeta Padmanabhan, May 19, 2013; The Hindu – With lifestyle diseases so rampant today, shouldn’t we turn our attention to clean and safe eating practices, asks Geeta Padmanabhan. Watch carefully what you eat, said Anantha Sayanam, coordinator, Safe Food Alliance and founder-volunteer, Restore — a not-for-profit organic retail outlet. That’s “clean eating”, right? Call it “safe eating”, he corrected me. But “clean eating” is the current buzzword — routinely tagged to tweets, found in blogs, posted on Instagram and Facebook, and seen on television screens. Is it a diet? A trendy lifestyle? A passing fancy? 
  • The Hidden World Under Our Feet– By Jim Robins, May 11, 2013 – The world’s worrisome decline in biodiversity is well known. Some experts say we are well on our way toward the sixth great extinction and that by 2100 half of all the world’s plant and animal species may disappear. Yet one of the most important threats to biodiversity has received little attention — though it lies under our feet.So finally they are saying all the things we have been saying again and again!
  • The Plight of the Honeybee – Billions of dollars—and a way of life—ride on saving pollinators – Jennifer S. Holland, for National Geographic News May 10, 2013, Bees are back in the news this spring, if not back in fields pollinating this summer’s crops. The European Union (EU) has announced that it will ban, for two years, the use of neonicotinoids, the much-maligned pesticide group often fingered in honeybee declines. The U.S. hasn’t followed suit, though this year a group of beekeepers and environmental and consumer groups sued the EPA for not doing enough to protect bees from the pesticide onslaught.
  • Taste for tuber on the rise – They grow underground, in great abundance and in a range of climates. If tapped right and added to the common man’s daily diet, tuber crops could end much of this nation’s worry on the food security front. This was the principal takeaway from a tuber exhibition organized recently in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district.
  •  We need small farmers, shandies – S. Gurumurthy – The centuries-old shandies, entirely the show of small, marginal and medium farmers, are going strong. Yet, the government has little use for shandies or small farmers. Recall two well-known facts about Indian agriculture. One, the share of agriculture in the nation’s GDP has come down from 56 per cent in 1950 to 14 per cent in 2011-12, but still, lot more than half of the nation’s working population lives on agriculture. And two, more than a quarter million farmers have committed suicide in the last 15 years. The policymakers are unable to face these two facts.
  • Veggies delight – The rising demand for vegetables has opened up a money-making opportunity for small farmers. Already reeling from recurring droughts and declining productivity of staple crops, they are enthusiastically turning to these short-duration crops. In a couple of years India has become the second largest producer of vegetables. This is a green revolution the government did not sponsor. But with vegetables driving the agriculture growth, the government cannot afford to ignore it anymore. RICHARD MAHAPATRA analyses the prospects and challenges, while ALOK GUPTA reporting from Jharkhand and SAYANTAN BERA from Sikkim chronicle the transition
  • The past & present of Indian environmentalis – Ramachandra Guha, March 27, 2013, Polluted skies, dead rivers, disappearing forests and displacement of peasants and tribals are what we see around us 40 years after the Chipko movement started. On the 27th of March 1973 — exactly 40 years ago — a group of peasants in a remote Himalayan village stopped a group of loggers from felling a patch of trees. Thus was born the Chipko movement, and through it the modern Indian environmental movement itself.
  • How do you like your food, sir? – Sunita Narain, Mar 31, 2013: The flavour of this fortnight is food, and its safety — in her edit, Sunita Narain stirs the pot by asking what the right model for food safety in India would be.
  • SRI system and indigenous sees – Father Henri de Laulanie, who developed SRI sytem strongly advocates locally adopted indigenous seeds. Sadly,SRI emerging as spring board for the promotion of Hybrid varieties. In this context our friend Mr.Soumik Banerjee conducted wonderful study on the performance of indigenous paddy varieties on SRI
  • Fertilizer, Fuel and Food: win-win options for Bihar – March 14, 2013 – The report, “Fertilizer, Fuel and Food: win-win options for Bihar” captures the findings of research conducted by Greenpeace along with local organizations in five districts of Bihar namely Khagaria, Madhepura, Muzaffarpur, Nalanda and Patna in 2012. The report points out  that State of Bihar needs to move away from chemical fertilizers to save money, livelihoods, health  and ecology. A holistic mission mode approach to ecological agriculture is critical to sustain farming in the State.
  • Kerala’s organic revolutionary – By Aadharsh, 03rd March 2013 University students are usually known for their carefree attitude, last-minute cramming and sleeping late. While a majority of them derive pleasures from all this, Hashique Kambrath, a third-year computer hardware student of Government Polytechnic College, Meppadi, has been reaping rich dividends by rearing farm animals and cultivating organic crops on his 1.5 acres of land.
  • Bihar farmer sets new world record, harvests 108.8 tonnes of potato per hectare –  Posted on Feb 18, 2013  Patna: Bihar’s farmers have done it again. A farmer from Sohdih village of Bihar’s Nalanda district has set a new world record in potato production through organic farming this year. The potato farmer, Rakesh Kumar, has harvested 108.8 tonnes of potato per hectare and set a new world record in potato production, Nalanda district magistrate Sanjay Kumar Agrawal said on February 18.
  • India’s rice revolution – In a village in India’s poorest state, Bihar, farmers are growing world record amounts of rice – with no GM, and no herbicide. Is this one solution to world food shortages? By John Vidal in Bihar, India: The Observer, Saturday 16 February 2013
  • Organic Thread – Aparna Pallavi, M Suchitra, Jyotika Sood: Issue Date: Feb 28, 2013 –  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 India propelled world organic cotton production to an all-time high of 241,697 tonnes. But soon, many farmers realised that organic farming takes years of sustained efforts to get full benefits. With no support from government, that favours Bt cotton, many farmers are reverting to chemical farming. Aparna Pallavi reports from the cotton belt of Maharasthra and Madhya Pradesh, and M Suchitra from Andhra Pradesh. Jyotika Sood writes about international non-profits that are venturing into alternative methods of sustainable cotton production.
  • Indian Farmers Trapped And Desperate – by Graham Peebles, 26 January, 2013 – A wave of suicides has swept through the Indian farming community in recent years as, driven into heavy debt by deadly competition, many small farmers don’t see another way out. A market-fundamentalist Indian government has so far refused to take its responsibilities to stop this growing epidemic.
  • Finding common ground – by Anitha Pailoor, Jan 29, 2013 –  A farmers’ collective in Nelamangala taluk has brought about a change in agricultural practices. Anitha Pailoor meets Hanumantharaju, the man behind the effort, to understand how organic cultivation can be profitable.
  • How Factory Farming contributes to Global Warming – A growing number of organic consumers, natural health advocates and climate hawks are taking a more comprehensive look at the fundamental causes of global warming. And its led them to this sobering conclusion: our modern energy-, chemical- and (GMO)-intensive and farming systems are the major cause of man-made global warming.
  • Neither a myth nor a panacea: Rajinder Chaudhary: Organic farming can not just feed the world but is easy on the environment too and hence more sustainable.
  • 25,000 demonstrate against agricultural industry in Berlin – by Karin Heinze: For the third year in a row, tens of thousands of people from all over Germany went onto the streets in the capital at the start of International Green Week on Saturday 19.1.2013. The broad alliance of farmers, environmental and nature conservation associations, church organizations and other groups motivated even more people than in previous years to take part in the mass demo.
  • Why Goa Should Go Fully Organic – by Dr. Claude Alvares
  • How Millions of Farmers are Advancing Agriculture For Themselves – by Jonathan Latham: An unheralded and unprecedented farmer-led revolution is underway in agriculture. Small farmers around the world are dramatically boosting their productivity and yields by adopting a growing system called SCI (System of Crop Intensification).
  • Agroecology is the only way:Latha Jishnu’s interview with Prof Hans Herren
  • ‘Nourishing the World Sustainably: Scaling up Agroecology’ The report argues that agroecology, which uses ecological concepts and principles for the design and management of sustainable agricultural systems, has consistently proven capable of sustainably increasing productivity, and has far greater potential for fighting hunger, particularly during economic and climatically uncertain times.
  • A new Rice every day? – The small farmer is increasingly getting the short shrift, and control over farming is moving into the hands of the private corporate sector. This does not paint a happy picture.  – Ashish Kothari
  • Can This Farmer Finally Defeat Monsanto This is a guest post from The Safe Food Foundation, an Australian based not-for-profit campaign and advocacy organization.
  • The Decolonization of Philippine Agriculture It talks about decolonization of Philippine agriculture and here we need decolonization of Indian agriculture.
  • Myths about industrial agriculture Organic foods are not healthier or better for the environment – and they’re packed with pesticides, argued Rob Johnston in his article “The great organic myths” published in these columns on August 8. Here is the counter view.
  • Crops in India Wilt in a Weak Monsoon Season – Vikas Bajaj
  • Making a case for organic farming: The most effective and low-cost strategy for addressing hunger and malnutrition is through organic farming, which enriches soil – Dr. Vandana Shiva
  • Neither a myth nor a panacea: Organic farming cannot just feed the world but is easy on the environment and hence more sustainable – Rajinder Chaudhary
  • Asia at the Crossroads:  an Action Aid study (Feb 2012) that strongly argues in favour of sustainable agriculture for Asian countries
  • Soil Health and Support Systems – Gopikrishna S R
  • Interview with Partap C Aggarwal
  • Climate Change can be reversed with Organic farming.This power point presentation takes you through how we can control the damages and reverse the effects of climate change through Organic Farming