Food and Nutrition

This working paper by World Bank analyzes how changes in the prices of land, labor, and food induced by modest temperature increases over the next three decades will affect household-level welfare in India.

Here the yields of crops grown by low-cost inputs including plant biomass are compared with chemical fertiliser-induced production.

The study was conducted over 1999-2004, and the findings conclude that the yields of low intensive biological farming are as good, if not better than chemical fertiliser intensive farming.

This paper discusses the need to shift from chemical intensive agriculture to organic farming. The authors in their vision for a chemical-free agriculture also stress that organic agriculture is a way to achieve food security.

The authors begin with the current crisis in Indian agriculture. Stating that though the Green Revolution made India self-sufficient in food production in the shortest time it also resulted in a host of problems. The indiscriminate use of fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides and herbicides has created problems of decline in the soil fertility, pollution of water resources, and chemical contamination of food grains, amongst the many similar issues now linked to the Green Revolution.

A summary of major recommendations of Working Group are as follows: -

Forwarded to the portal by: Ashmeet Kapoor

Jagriti Foods is a startup working towards creating a brand of natural and healthy products that are staples to the Indian diet. This will be accomplished by working directly with farmers by providing quality inputs, teaching improved farming practices and creating a portfolio of technologies that will boost productivity. The farmer’s produce will be brought at market rates and will then be processed such that it maintains maximum nutrition and taste. Our pilot will be launching soon in U.P. and our initial product will be wheat based.

Image and Content Courtesy:  Organic Farming Association Of India (OFAI)

A comprehensive set of presentations and papers from the "South Asia Conference on Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques" held at Bangalore, Karnataka on 10 and 11 September 2009, and organised by the Organic Farming Association of India (OFAI), National Center of Organic Farming (NCOF) and the Third World Network, Malaysia, covering various aspects of organic, natural and sustainable agriculture, is now available on the India Water Portal.

This set of presentations from the conference on Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques held during September 2009 at Bangalore deals with the conservation of seeds particularly for small subsistence farmers who are not very well linked with local markets and for whom seed production is still an integral part of farming activity seamlessly merged with the growing of crops and the totality of work and life on a farm.

This set of presentations from the conference on Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques held during September 2009 at Bangalore deals with methods for promoting plant health through organic farming.

Healthy fields: Managing plant health

This presentation by S R Sundaraman of Tamil Nadu Farmers Technology Association, Erode on managing plant health begins with an account of the techniques that can be employed in TNRH 29 rice through organic SRI methods. The following are recommended in harvesting stage – (a) four irrigations with fruit gaudi (b) two applications of MEM (c) application of four sprays and (d) four applications of parasites. The growth promoters used are Archea solution, Concentrated Amudham Sol, Panchakavya, Butter Milk Sol, Fish/Egg Extract, Leaf Extract Solution-pest control and TFPE-MN Supplements. Apart from rice, the other crops dealt with are maize, kadali banana, turmeric, sugarcane and vegetables.