Rainfed Agriculture

Featured Articles
August 10, 2022
Taming water - Irrigation and drought protection in colonial India and the present
The irrigation at all costs mindset and narrow policies for drought protection during the colonial rule ignored rainfed agriculture and local practices that sustained agriculture in the Bombay Deccan. This continues even today.
Recurrent droughts and the struggle for survival (Image Source: Gaurav Bhosale via Wikimedia Commons):
June 19, 2022
Hidden treasure: Adivasi’s traditional food diversity
Odisha Millets Mission is trying to bring back the glory of millets in tribal areas
A range of millet recipes and ready to cook items are sold by Millets on Wheels in Jashipur block in Mayurbhanj district. This initiative is supported by Odisha Millets Mission (Image: Odisha Millets Mission)
May 25, 2022
Non pesticide management – a viable alternative
A study assesses the impact of the Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming programme
The APCNF policy promotes zero synthetic chemical inputs (Image: Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming Facebook Page)
April 24, 2021
Scaling up sustainable agriculture critical to improve farm incomes
Study by CEEW proposes several measures for promoting sustainable agricultural practices and systems, including restructured government support and rigorous evidence generation
SRI rice field (Image: Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 4.0)
April 1, 2021
COVID-19 and social protection: Impact in the agriculture sector
Lower transaction costs, minimal leakages, and immediate delivery make a strong case for direct cash transfers, says study.
Access to credit increased farmers' expenditures on farm-related activities. (Image: Pixy.org)
March 12, 2021
Strengthening the frontline for water security
Challenges and aspirations of community champions and how programs can address them
Kalyani Dash works with 150 households in the village directly and trains them on chemical-free farming techniques, water secure crop production, efficient water use in agriculture for a sustainable farming future as well as kitchen and nutrition gardening. (Image: FES)
200-crore penalty for Adani's Mundra port
News this week: 200-crore penalty on Mundra port, Parliament passes Land Acquisition Bill and dengue spreads in Mumbai.
Ravleen Kaur
Posted on 08 Sep, 2013 07:32 PM

POLICY MATTERS

200-crore penalty for Adani's Mundra port
Land reclaimation from the sea at the Mundra Port
Invitation for national conference on 'Ancient farming technologies of India : Principles and practices', Institute of Scientific Research on Vedas, Dondapadu Eluru, Andhra Pradesh
A conference to motivate a researcher to go more deep in to traditional Indian organic farming techniques and to encourage a general field agriculturist to adopt more ancient techniques.
Posted on 07 Sep, 2013 01:37 PM

For more information on this interesting conference, please click here.
Traditional farming techniques
Food Security Bill sees light of the day
News this week - Lok Sabha passes the Food Security Bill, floods engulf Gujarat and India bans shark finning.
Ravleen Kaur
Posted on 01 Sep, 2013 10:28 PM

POLICY MATTERS

Food security bill passed
Affordable food for all (Source: Google Images)
Vedanta loses the bauxite battle
News this week - No bauxite from Niyamgiri, Delhi government to incentivise solar power and amphibian species near extinction.
Ravleen Kaur
Posted on 25 Aug, 2013 04:33 PM

Dongria Kondhs win the mining battle
Niyamgiri hills Source: Amnesty International
Sowing the seeds of change
Self-sufficient farming gives women in rural Alipurduar in West Bengal food, health and confidence!
Usha Dewani
Posted on 07 Aug, 2013 07:53 PM

Till a few decades ago, most people in India grew vegetables and fruits in their own gardens. Then something changed. We shifted from 'farming for food' to 'farming for money'. The start of the ‘green revolution’ meant that production increased but so did the farmer's dependency on chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides.
Garden irrigated by a single pot of water
Making leaders out of farmers
Farmers meet, talk, exchange ideas, watch films and more at the Pani Panchayat in Maharashtra, a voluntary movement to connect farmers and build knowledge and resource groups.
Hamsa Iyer
Posted on 01 Aug, 2013 10:37 PM

The 1972 drought in Maharashtra affected several villages and talukas. Farmers in Purandhar taluka in Pune district decided to get together and discuss how to improve their situation so that they would not be as severely affected by poor rainfall in the future. Thus was born Pani Panchayat.
Farmers sharing priceless info Source: Hamsa Iyer
Beware of genetically modified crops!
The passing of the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India bill will hasten the arrival of genetically modified (GM) crops in India. Are we aware of all the facts around it?
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 25 Jul, 2013 01:36 PM

When the DNA of a plant is modified using genetic engineering techniques or biotechnology, the plant is said to have been genetically modified (GM). What does this mean to you and I? Quite simply, it means that the crop could have undergone this process in order to become something that it wasn't in the first place. 
Protest against BRAI bill Source: Greenpeace
The Dongria Kondhs' tribals bring the judiciary down on its knees
Niyamgiri tribals' decision to veto mining, environment degradation's effect on the country's GDP and Maharashtra's carbon trading scheme are the highlights of this week's news.
Ravleen Kaur
Posted on 22 Jul, 2013 01:40 AM

Dongria Kondh tribals stand firm against mining of Niyamgiri
Celebration Dance (Source: Wikimedia)
Extreme weather warning!
Climate change is manifesting itself through modified rainfall patterns, extreme events and temperature fluctuations. What effect will these have on water, sanitation and health in India?
Chicu Lokgariwar
Posted on 11 Jul, 2013 04:04 PM

We sat in a plush climate-controlled room and deliberated climate change as the outside world collapsed around us..
The flooded Bagmati river
Breaking a centuries-old curse in Uttarakhand
A small village in Uttarakhand stands testimony to the fact that rooftop rainwater harvesting is a reliable, economical and logical way of ensuring self-sufficiency and dignity.
Chicu Lokgariwar
Posted on 09 Jul, 2013 11:23 AM

Sudha Gunavante is a contented woman. She has reason to be. After all, she and her husband have managed to prosper on their farm, her children are well-educated and well-settled, and her rhododendron syrup is the pride of the village. If that is not enough, she has also managed to escape a centuries-old curse.
Sudha and Bhuvan at their home in Gauna village
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