The network has emerged based on
the collective understanding that agricultural policies designed
for relatively secure and well-endowed parts of the country have
been indiscriminately extended to rainfed areas. Such an
extension has contributed to a range of crises, including the
depletion of groundwater and natural resources, escalating input
costs, and a secular decline in farmers’ incomes resulting into
distress.
Thematic Focus:
Enhancing organic inputs into
soils
Establishing appropriate seed
systems
Enhancing production and
consumption of millets
‘Water for All’ – access to
protective and productive water for securing livelihoods of
many
Inland fisheries in seasonal
water bodies in rainfed areas
Rainfed livestock – focus on
small animals & services
Credit and institutions
|| WHAT'S NEWS ||
|| Proceedings ||
Launching Meeting on Enhancing Soil Productivity in Rainfed Areas -
RRA pilot initiative
Evolving an
Alternative Paradigm for Seeds Systems for Rainfed Agriculture
27th -
28th, January 2011 - ICECD Campus,
Bopal, Ahmedabad, Gujarat organized by SATVIK
Solar-powered sprayer
that solves many problems
The Hindu, December 29,
2011
Once charged during the night it can be
operated for nearly eight hours. Viable Alternative: David
demonstrating to farmers to use of the solar sprayer.
Read more....
|| NEWS ITEMS ||
Fortify nutrient-based subsidy
M.
Rajshekhar, Economic Times, 22 December 2011
The nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) scheme, introduced in April 2010, was
meant to resolve these problems. The government fixes the subsidy on
fertilisers based.
Read more....
Decentralized Procurement and
Universalized PDS
Dr.
Kaustav Banerjee, Economic and Political Weekly (EPW), December 24,
2011, Vol No. XLVI No. 52
Decentralisation of food
procurement could facilitate universalisation of the public
distribution system under the proposed National Food Security Act.
Non-green revolution crops such as millets, coarse cereals, pulses,
oilseeds, etc, should also be covered in the PDS.
Read more....
Understanding the Andhra Crop Holiday
Movement
Author(s): Vamsi Vakulabharanam , N Purendra Prasad, K Laxminarayana,
Sudheer Kilaru, Economic and Political Weekly (EPW), December 17-23,
2011
Why would farmers keep their own
land fallow as part of a voluntary “crop holiday protest movement” in
a part of Andhra Pradesh is a question that has puzzled many. A field
visit to the Konaseema region reveals that the dynamics of class
contradictions in the area are also responsible for the nature of the
movement that goes beyond the issue of remunerative prices.
Read more....
What's your millet
mojo?
Gayatri Jayaraman, LiveMint.com, December December 9th, 2011
Long after millets
after India's dinner tables and became a poor man's 'low-caste' crop,
the diet-conscious affluent and activists are putting the grain back
on our food map.
Read more....
||
ANOTHER GREEN
REVOLUTION ||
Q&A: M.S. Swaminathan
Business Standard, March
13th, 2011
'A second Green Revolution will never
happen'.
Read more....
Q&A: Abhijit Sen
Business Standard, March
10th, 2011
Of Soils, subsidies
and survival: a report of Living Soils -
S.R. Gopikrishna and O.P. Rupela - This is the report of the
first-ever social audit of soil
health and support systems in India by Greenpeace.
It assesses the impact of government policies on soil health across
five states and finds out that indiscriminate chemical fertilizer
usage, catalyzed by a lenient subsidy policy and neglect of ecological
fertilization is posing a threat to soil health and future food
security of the country.
Read more....
Invest for 'Life in
Soils' - 10 ways to make 'Living Soils' possible (2011)
This document synthesizes various experiences on ground into a package
of 10 modules for action, amendable for government to invest. The wide
variety of options for enhancing soil fertility are elaborated in this
document along with the basic issues confronting their adoption and
policy measures.
Every Thirty Minutes
Farmer Success, Human Rights, and the Agrarian Crisis in India? -
Democracy
Now! speaks with Smita Narula, the co-author of the new report, "Every
Thirty Minutes: Farmer Suicides, Human Rights and the Agrarian Crisis
in India.".
Read more....
The state of food and agriculture
2010-11: women in agriculture- Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (March, 2011)
Women make significant contributions to the rural economy in all
developing country regions.
Read more....
|| NEWS FLASH ||
From farmer to retailer, he sows seeds of change in Bangalore market Indian Express, December 19, 2011,
Read More...
Food Security Bill: Simpler The Better EPW, December 24, 2011,
Read More...
Grow your
own vegetables
at home - The Hindu,
24th January
2011. Read more....
Abdul Kalam's
special speech on
"Water Partnerships towards meeting the Climate Challenge
Abdul Kalam's website,
6th January 2011...Read more....
Farms sans chemicals
Asian Age, 28th October
2010
It's fast catching on organic farm tourism is the latest value
addition rural tourism has achieved across the globe...Read more....
Getting closer to nature through
organic farming -
The Hindu, 18th October 2010 -
Ravindra Prasad of Boddavara showing the technique used for increasing microbial
activity for soil health on his organic farming ‘Brundavanam' orchard at
Boddavara in Vizianagaram district.
Organic farming takes roots -
The Hindu, 18th October 2010 -
Organic farming, a concept well established in the
western countries in the course of past two decades, is slowly taking roots in
Madurai region.
Judicious combination of
manures, fertilizers ensures food security
- The Hindu, 14th
October,
2010- Growing organic foods is a matter of individual or enterprise
preference
Food security
depends on
small and marginal dryland farmers
- The Hindu - May 6th,
2010- About 40 villages in Tirunelveli have using chemical
fertilizers
Dr.
V.L. Chopra, Member, Planning Commission visited Laxminaik Thanda and
Yenabavi villages in Warangal districts. He visited to NPM and Organic
villages.
Picking straws becomes
a rewarding business in Kerala - Shree Padre
Scarcity of labour is forcing paddy
farmers to embrace machines in a big way. The farm mechanization
movement is spreading fast to the southern states of Kerala, Andhra
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture
fertility by The Water Channel
Swaminathan
Invest for 'Life in
Soils' - 10 ways to make 'Living Soils' possible (2011)
Now! speaks with Smita Narula, the co-author of the new report, "Every
Thirty Minutes: Farmer Suicides, Human Rights and the Agrarian Crisis
in India.".
of the United Nations (March, 2011)
Women make significant contributions to the rural economy in all
developing country regions.
own vegetables
at home - The Hindu,
24th January
2011.
special speech on
"Water Partnerships towards meeting the Climate Challenge
Abdul Kalam's website,
6th January 2011...
broken
(PDS) Sunita Narain's blog
h
October,
2010- Growing organic foods is a matter of individual or enterprise
preference
