Besides providing for many of our needs, forests play a pivotal role in providing ecosystem services, ranging from biodiversity conservation to climate regulation. Yet over the...
Recently Published Articles
Enhancing value by improving quality
The unique agro-ecological conditions of Kolli Hills have a direct effect on the coffee aroma and quality. The case of this small-scale, organic farmer reaffirms that a...
Integrated Fish Farming – Adding value to the traditional subsistence based farming system
Integration of various components on the farm not only results in better resource management but also leads to increased farm production, income and productive employment....
Collective Marketing – One step towards adding value
A small practice like grading and sorting at the farm level has resulted in farmers reaping rich benefits in Uttarakashi district. Besides value addition, collectivisation...
Innovative value chains ensures sustainable livelihoods
By organizing themselves into a Farmer Producer Company, the farmers in Koraput district in Odisha are handling processing, value addition and collective marketing of...
Agriculture – a life of inter-connectedness
Strongly believing in diversity, around 5000 farmers in Kerala have been preserving and nurturing seed diversity, over years. Exchanging and conserving not only seeds but also...
Traditional cuisine – The last link in enhancing the value chain
Nahari is an initiative connoting tribal women led traditional indigenous food sales corner set up successfully by BAIF in villages of South Gujarat. The concept of community...
Pastoral Parliament
A platform to be heard and seen Monika Agarwal and Jessica Duncan In India, pastoralists have long struggled to make their voices heard. Cultural and religious differences...
Cattle shed management for better soil health
Small interventions can have great impacts. A small support from the government for improving the cattle sheds resulted in a shift in the way farmers of Sindhuli district in...
Meet the Millet Man
Millets face low consumer awareness and demand, weak value chains and low interest from research organizations as well as commercial players. This lack of interest is surprising...
Local communities, livestock and livelihoods
Bakarwals, the indigenous community in the Himalayas, have been depending on goats for their livelihoods. Theipractices have not only sustained their livelihoods but have also...
Livestock – The engine and inspiration of mountain economy
Traditionally pastoralist communities, with easy access to community resources, managed farming and livestock seamlessly. But with gradual loss of ownership on common resources,...