Food security
depends on
small and marginal dryland farmers
- The Hindu - May 6th,
2010- About 40 villages in Tirunelveli have stopped using chemical
fertilizers
Bicycle inspired
plougher and weeder gains popularity
- The Hindu - 29th
April
, 2010 - More than 200 farmers are using the multi-purpose weeder today
Enhancing plant growth using organic
inputs The Hindu
- 15th October 2009 - The
father used conventional methods while the son favoured organic practices.
For more details...
Switching to forefather's methods to cut
down
expense on inputs - The Hindu -
10th September 2009- Hundreds of cultivable areas are turning into
residential plots.
For more details...
Campaign against chemical
fertilizers - The Hindu - 12th February
2008 -
Dharam Raj Ranka's organization
distributes three truckloads of manure free to farmers everyday. The van is
specially modified to carry hoardings which spread the message about the
benefits involved in using cow dung as manure instead of chemical fertilizers
and also appealing to people to fight against cow slaughter. Members of SSSGN
travel nearly 250 km a day in the van and educate farmers by distributing
pamphlets promoting breeding of cows and the use of cow dung. It costs some Rs.
2,500 per day for Mr. Ranka, who bears the expenditure with donations from
philanthropists.
Revitalise agriculture:
expert
The Hindu - 17th November
2007
The country’s food security was at peril given the large-scale migration of
farmers from rural to urban areas as agriculture was turning increasingly
un-remunerative, said Devinder Sharma, who chairs the Forum for Biotechnology
and Food Security, an independent organisation of agricultural scientists,
economists and bio-technologists.
The agriculture sector was facing a crisis and there was an urgent need to
revitalise it. The focus must be on sustainable agriculture by turning back to
traditional farm practices and steps to develop soil health as the Green
Revolution has collapsed, he said speaking at a seminar on Indian Agro-Economic
Scenario organised by the Farmers Forum of India and other farmers associations
here on Saturday
Punjab's spiritual farming
Down to Earth - 29th Nov
2007
Charanjeet Kaur is busy ensuring that she
does not run out of gram flour, jaggery, green chillies and neem leaves. No she
is not preparing for a lavish lunch. This is a "magic potion" for her
two-hectare (ha) farm.
Farmers or Flls? The Bt
Cotton Question
InfoChange India - 19th Nov
2007
Study after study has shown the pitfalls of Bt cotton. Every second cotton
farmer who committed suicide in Vidarbha was a Bt farmer. But biotech industry
lobbyists, who take a stock market view of agriculture, wouldn't know this since
these figures are not reflected in the Sensex, says P.V. Satheesh....
Simulation model can enhance
rice productivity
Newindpress - 19th Nov
2007
The test revealed, besides others, that 'Ranjit' was highly suitable for rainfed
favourable lowlands along with 'Swarna'. The adaptation rate among farmers ...
Call for watershed
development to save shrinking agriculture
Times of India - 22nd
Nov' 2007
In the last few years, private sector
investment in agriculture has collapsed and there has been low public investment
in agriculture, education and research"....
drought, keep farmers debt-free, and provide the much-needed nutrition
without using pesticides, reports Ramesh Menon. 
to Earth (January 05, 2009)- 561,220 hectares of agricultural land in
Andhra Pradesh
is now free of synthetic pesticides. About 340,000 farmers in 3,000
villages find profits in not using those chemicals. In these villages,
indebtedness is down. This is a state that symbolized agrarian
distress..
National
workshop on "New paradigm for rainfed farming - redesigning support systems
&
incentives - 27th-29th, Sept' 07
