Rainfed Agriculture

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August 10, 2022 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 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 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 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 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 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)
Comparing conventional and organic farming crop production systems - Inputs, minimal treatments and data needs - A research paper
The researchers here discuss the experiences gained from this experiment and those gathered from organic farmers. Posted on 19 Apr, 2011 02:45 AM

The following article is based on a field experiment in International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), where low cost farming systems that involve use of biological inputs obtained from the field is compared with conventional farming.

Further, the authors offer suggestions for future demonstration and verification experiments, to study the virtues of organic  farming.

Lessons from non-chemical input treatments based on scientific and traditional knowledge in a long-term farming experiment - A research paper
This paper reports on a field experiment where four crop-husbandry systems were studied. Posted on 19 Apr, 2011 12:32 AM

 

Two of the four systems are low-cost farming methods which are based on traditional and scientific knowledge on using crop residues, farm-waste, compost, Gliricidia lopping, bacterial inoculants, and herbal extracts as nutrients to nourish the soil, and as biopesticides to manage pests.

The third system is conventional agriculture which is the "control" and receives chemical input as suggested by research institutions depending on crop type. The fourth is a combination of the  first three.

The effects of agricultural water and landholdings to rural livelihoods in Indo-Gangetic basin – Research analysis by IWMI and ICAR with an emphasis on Bihar
Water use and landholding factors are widely acknowledged as major determinants of agricultural development and hence rural wealth in IGB basin and Bihar. Posted on 18 Apr, 2011 11:56 PM

IWMI PaperThe current research analysis by International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in cooperation with ICAR Resear

Paddy and water management with the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) – A special issue of the journal "Paddy and Water Environment"
The international journal “Paddy and Water Environment” has brought out a special issue on “Paddy and Water Management with the System of Rice Intensification (SRI)” Posted on 17 Apr, 2011 10:30 AM

PAWEThis  brings together the results of formal research on SRI in a number of countries (Part I) and also reports on initiatives by government agencies, NGOs, universities, or the private sector, bringing knowledge of SRI to farmers in a wide range of agroecological circumstances (Part II). It has six articles and nine technical reports from Afghanistan, China, the Gambia, Kenya, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Mali,  Pakistan, Panama, and Thailand as well as several review articles.

The System of Rice Intensification (SRI), developed in Madagascar almost 30 years ago, modifies certain practices for managing plants, soil, water, and nutrients with the effect of raising the productivity of the land, labor, and capital devoted to rice production. Certain production inputs are reduced—seeds, inorganic fertilizer, water, and fuel where water is pumped—with increased yield as a result.

Farming practices in different water regimes: Action - Newsletter of AFPRO for April 2011
Action for Food Production(AFPRO) news letter - Volume 2, Issue 1 of April 2011, focuses on the following topics. Posted on 14 Apr, 2011 07:22 PM


Action for Food Production

Evaluation of crop production systems based on locally available biological inputs - A research paper (2006)
This paper, part of a larger book 'Biological approaches to sustainable soil systems', reports the results of a field experiment, conducted in Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, Posted on 14 Apr, 2011 01:28 AM

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.

Recommendations of Working Group on Agriculture to increase agricultural production and productivity in the country - PIB release
The Working Group on Agricultural Production has recommended a number of measures for increasing agricultural production and productivity. Posted on 12 Apr, 2011 05:40 PM


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

Presentations and papers from the South Asia Conference on "Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques" organised by the Organic Farming Association of India (OFAI) at Bangalore (2009)
The SAC conference was targeted at organic farmers, agricultural scientists interested in or working on organic farming and NGOs/CSOs involved in a sustainable agriculture outreach programmes. Posted on 30 Mar, 2011 06:32 PM

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

Seeds

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.

Harvest of Grief: A film by Rasil Basu and Ekatra Production that explores the severe agricultural crisis in Punjab
The north Indian state of Punjab was once a land of plenty, considered the breadbasket of the nation. Posted on 22 Mar, 2011 02:48 PM

 

 

Sowing seeds of consciousness - Presentations from the South Asia Conference on "Outstanding Organic Agriculture Techniques", Bangalore organised by OFAI (2009)
Conserving seeds - from production to collection to storage - in organic and natural form is the key to sustainable agriculture. Posted on 20 Mar, 2011 06:14 PM

Conserving SeedsThis 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.

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