Nalbari farmers resume cultivation after 25 years
Thousands of farmers in Borigog-Barbhag block, in lower Assam’s Nalbari district, joined hands to dredge a 15-km stretch of a water channel that had blocked and flooded farmlands across 50 villages. For 25 years, farmers had abandoned work on their waterlogged lands. Now they are back in business and busy planning two crops a year
Organic farming brings hope to Vidarbha's distressed farmers
Low-cost, sustainable and environment-friendly farm technologies are helping boost the confidence and self-reliance of farmers in the drought-prone Vidarbha region of Maharashtra
Umra takes up 'non-violent' farming
For the last four years, a team from the civil society organisation Ugam Gram Vikas Sanstha in Umra, Hingoli district, Maharashtra, has been successfully propagating the advantages of organic farming in this drought-prone district
Farmer field schools rid Pakistan's cotton fields of pesticides
A movement conceived by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, funded first by the European Union and now by the Pakistani government, gives farmers in the cotton-growing belt of the Indus valley the skills and confidence to curb the indiscriminate use of pesticides, whilst also reducing poverty
No starvation deaths in villages with grain banks
In Kashipur and Rayagada districts of Orissa, villagers survive the summer months on mango kernels and tamarind seeds. Now, villagers are getting together to set up their own grain banks and their own safety nets
Earthworms to the rescue
Vermicompost reduces the cost of production by 20% and enhances output by 25%. Most important, it's organic. The M R Morarka-GDC Rural Research Foundation (MRRF) has promoted vermiculture to transform the lives of over 3 lakh farmers in Rajasthan
BAIF ropes in farmers to regenerate community pastureland
Community pastures are an important resource in the arid state of Rajasthan. BAIF's pastureland development project has involved the community in revitalising common pastures, solving the problem of fodder, regenerating wastelands and boosting soil and water conservation
Incubator for rural innovations
From Bullet motorcycles modified to function as ploughs to high-yielding cardamom varieties, SRISTI in Ahmedabad is helping hundreds of grassroots inventors and innovators to conserve biodiversity and develop eco-friendly solutions to local problems
Fishing in the right waters
The fisherwomen of Nayagarh, Orissa, are being trained in freshwater aquaculture. Their newfound economic stability means that they can finally afford to eat the fish they catch.
SOS: Save our seeds!
A small village in Tehri-Garhwal pioneers a unique movement to conserve and promote indigenous seeds and agricultural practices.