State of Organic and Natural Farming in India: Challenges and Possibilities
Organic and natural farming in India is still at a nascent stage. To scale it up and make it a mass movement, governments at the Centre and in states must take big steps.
Mainstreaming organic and natural farming will address the ecological, economic and existential crisis in Indian agriculture. Only by using farming methods that are sustainable in the long run will Indian agriculture-and India-become truly self-reliant.
- Published in AGROECOLOGY
The potential of agroecology to build climate-resilient livelihoods and food systems
This study highlights the links between agroecology and climate change, by providing evidence on the technical (i.e. ecological and socio-economic) and policy potential of agroecology to build resilient food systems. The report aims to answer the following question:
How can agroecology foster climate change adaptation, mitigation and resilience through practices and policies?
Inspired by the idea that transformation will only happen through a coordinated approach among all levels, this study aims to combine evidence from a broad range of backgrounds and perspectives.
- Published in AGROECOLOGY
Agro-Ecological Zones in Punjab
A team of scientists and researchers from the University of Agriculture Faisalabad and University of Arid Agriculture Rawalpindi, in collaboration with FAO and Government of Punjab (Agriculture Department) worked together to delineate the Agro-Ecological Zoning (AEZ) in Punjab.
AEZ refers to the division of Punjab region into land resource mapping units, having a unique combination of landform, soil and climatic characteristics, and/or land cover.Based on the most up to date collected information on natural resources, climate and agricultural markets, AEZ reveals an enormous potential for crop diversification and productivity. And it is the need of the hour in a country where population is rapidly growing and where climate changes (increases in temperature, changes in rainfall pattern, extreme weather events) evidence the vulnerability of the current agricultural systems.From a side AEZ will help to make smallholder farming a profitable business and overall enhance agriculture efficiency.On the other side, policymakers will be able to use data of AEZ and associated information on land characteristics (soil quality, topography, agricultural land use, yeld etc) to formulate optimal policies for sustainable agricultural production.
- Published in AGROECOLOGY, RESOURCES
Pathways to Sustainable Agriculture
It draws on four books which address three themes central to understanding how pathways emerge in agriculture, and how sustainability, is or indeed is not, generated. The three themes are: framing (how we understand agriculture and its roles in development), practice (how agriculture and agricultural research is carried out, and by whom) and governance (how agriculture is regulated and controlled).
It includes chapters from 4 books:
Contested Agronomy: Agricultural Research in a Changing World
Regulating Technology: International Harmonization and Local Realities
Governing Agricultural Sustainability: Global Lessons from GM Crops
Adapting to Climate Uncertainty in African Agriculture: Narratives and Knowledge Politics
- Published in AGROECOLOGY, RESOURCES