-The Hindu When Sreenivasan took up farming, the thumb rule was that pesticides would not be used Kochi: As we go about farming the fields using fertilisers and pesticides, who’s tending the dense and diverse vegetation in forests — which have more fruit-bearing trees and edible roots? The question by Subhash Palekar, noted propounder of zero-budget farming, got actor Sreenivasan thinking about modern farming practices. “Everything that’s there to nurture vegetables and fruits...

-Deccan Herald Organic food in India has slowly made its way into more households over the last decade. More and more people are embracing the concept of safe food, having realised the benefits that come along with it. So, with the demand seeing a steady rise, how does the supply scene fare comparatively? Well, in keeping with the changing times and needs of consumers, farming too is seeing a shift towards...

-The Hindu Despite growing clamour for pesticide-free produce, doubts persist about the capability of organic farming to generate high yields Kerala: Organic farming began finding momentum in Kerala since the unveiling of a policy in 2010 that set the goal of converting the entire agricultural production in the State to organic within 10 years. That policy announced by the then Left Democratic Front government is now being fast-tracked by the present United...

-Hindustan Times Committed to serve only healthy 'langar' (food cooked in community kitchens of shrines) to devotees, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has declared its intention of producing organic seed of different types of food grains, vegetables and pulses, and then distributing these among farmers for growing in their agricultural fields. The SGPC may produce these organic seeds under the brand name, 'Shiromani', on agricultural land owned by it. The idea was...

-The Hindu Thrissur (Kerala): Hard and dedicated work has won laurels for Samrudhi, a Kudumasree unit from Madakkathara. It has been chosen for the award best agriculture operations among Kudumbasree units in Thrissur district. Samrudhi’s success story began three years ago when an MoU was signed between the district authorities of Kudumbasree and the Kerala Agricultural University t(KAU) o permit the 10-member unit to cultivate vegetables on a five-acre land of the...