Editorial – Youth in farming

Today around 25% of rural population in India are between ages 15 and 29 (2001 Census). The Tenth Five-Year Plan (2002-2007) has estimated that India’s labour force will increase faster than the ability of the economy to create new working opportunities. The country...

Editorial – Insects as Allies

Albert Einstein once said that “if the bees disappeared, man would have only four years of life left” – a warning for an impending food problem if we neglected the natural pollinators. In fact it is not just about bees, but a whole lot of other living beings in the...

Women forging change – Editorial

Women forging change We have been talking about women in agriculture – that they are important to farming, that they perform around 50% of the farming activities, despite having less access to resources and technical inputs. And we have been discussing this for more...

Editorial – Greening the economy

Continuing environmental degradation and its effect on the functioning, diversity, and resilience of ecological systems, though a matter of serious concern from quite some time, is gaining attention only now. Under such conditions, respect for local ecosystems and the...

Editorial – Farmer Organisations

No other ‘Producer’ faces more challenges than a farmer does. He has to grapple with resource degradation, uncertain and unpredictable climatic conditions, poor advisory and other support services, unfavourable policies and the priorities of the government, all...

Editorial – Combating desertification

Desertification and land degradation are not just natural phenomena. They are the outcomes of long-term over-exploitation and mismanagement of fragile ecosystems. To address these problems, we cannot pursue the same ways of thinking that have led to this situation. We...