It was early February 2020. I was headed off with my camera crew, our field officer – Kumar and our NGO partner from Bagalkot to visit and film some Fiar Price shops. There were muttered rumours of a virus called COVID. WhatsApp messages, sounding the alarm of a pandemic, were...

Collectively carps represent the largest global aquaculture sector, contributing over 20 percent of global aquaculture production. The Indian major carps including catla (Catla catla), rohu (Labeo rohita) and mrigal (Cirhinnus mrigala) are cultured widely across the Indian sub-continent with the main culture system being a multi-species polyculture in ponds, often...

While crop diversification has many benefits and is a stated government objective across the Eastern Gangetic Plains (EGP) of South Asia, the complexity of assessment has led to a rather limited understanding on the progress towards, and status of, smallholder crop diversification. Most studies focus on specific commodities or report...

Agriculture is a fundamentally important human activity that intrinsically depends on nature and at the same time poses a threat to it. Agriculture depends on healthy ecosystems and ecosystem services, such as fresh water, soil fertility, nutrient cycling, pest regulation and pollination. Biodiversity forms the foundation of food production: without...

CONTEXT Millions of people living in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (EGP) of India engage in agriculture to support their livelihoods yet are income poor, and food and climate insecure. To address these challenges, policymakers and development programs invest in irrigation-led agricultural intensification. However, the evidence for agricultural intensification to lift farmers' incomes above...

Non-extractive and power-equalising research involves different knowledge holders (e.g. researchers and farmers) in a process of close cooperative engagement, jointly producing new knowledge, with mutual learning. As such, this form of cooperative enquiry is a significant reversal from dominant roles, locations, and ways of knowing. I offer some examples and reflections on...

Audio podcast of Access Agriculture Co-founder Phil Malone in conversation with Neeraj Kumar, Co-founder of Khetee, an NGO in Bihar, India, on his experience as Access Agriculture’s Entrepreneur for Rural Access (ERA). Listen here ...

Fusarium wilt is a fungal disease that lives in the soil and that spreads through infected seeds. The fungus can survive in the soil for about 3 years. Seed treatment improves germination and helps to keep the crop free from diseases that are in the soil or on the seed....

Marine fisheries in India is a caste-based occupation, with a social and political hierarchy in place. For those belonging to the subordinate fishing castes, excluded from decision-making processes at home, migration is an important strategy for gaining economic resources, social power and recognition as skilled and successful marine fishermen. In...

Agroecologie enables the improvement of agricultural production through the enhancement of local natural resources and traditional know-how. It contributes to maintaining biodiversity and restoring land in drylands, which are particularly threatened by global warming and food insecurity, while contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Within the framework of the...

Developed in the Hurgaov region of Rajasthan (India), where droughts are frequent, this project allowed the promotion and conservation of rainwater through rejuvenating traditional rainwater harvesting water bodies (Naadi) with the participation of the community. 

This situation paper is a background document that summarizes the diversity, complexity, and relevance of tenure systems, rights, and the institutional management of inland fisheries in India. The paper is prepared on the occasion of the ICSF Workshop on Improving Inland Fisheries Governance in India, held at Seva Kendra, Kolkata,...

Pashmina is one of the most expensive natural fabrics in the world, and yet the lives of those who produce this rare fibre in India is very tough. The Changpa of eastern Ladakh and western Tibet have for centuries supplied the fabled Kashmiri shawl industry with its essential raw material...

Under Indian legislation, i.e. various state Marine Fishing (Regulation) Act (MFRAs), small-scale traditional fishers are granted exclusive rights to near-shore marine waters, ostensibly to protect their rights and livelihoods. However, failures in implementation, management and monitoring of these exclusive small-scale artisanal fishing zones (SFZs), has hampered the holistic actualization of...

It has been claimed that Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), a burgeoning practice of farming in India based on low-inputs and influenced by agro-ecological principles, has the potential to improve farm viability and food security. However, there is concern that the success of the social movement fueling the adoption of...

Some plants repel insects naturally. Grow them in between your crop to deter insects. By knowing the wild plants that grow in your area, you can prepare your own herbal insect repellent at no cost. Add cow urine to help extract the repelling compounds from milky latex leaves, bitter-tasting leaves...

This study tries to discuss issues relating to both internal and external cost. Through information leaned from literature, onsite observation, and actual discussion with stakeholders, this study attempts to draw attention to the impacts of aquaculture on the environment, on the lives of the people dependent on these environments, and...

Agroecology enables the improvement of agricultural production through the enhancement of local natural resources and traditional know-how. It contributes to maintaining biodiversity and restoring land in drylands, which are particularly threatened by global warming and food insecurity while contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Within the framework of the AVACLIM project, the...

Nestled in a verdant valley in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, about a four-hour drive southwest of Bangalore, the agroecology learning center Amrita Bhoomi is one of dozens of farmer-to-farmer training hubs around the world focused on agroecology. The center was born out of organizing efforts of the local...

I spent my summer vacations at my grandma's after my 6th-grade examinations. Grandma lives in a small village in Kerala in India. It was always fun to be at her place, spending my days playing, helping in the kitchen and feeding the cows. I rarely visited grandma every year as...