-The Hindu Powerful lobbies with vested interests see agroecology as a threat to their influence on farming systems Agroecology is recognised worldwide as a system that enhances fertile landscapes, increases yields, restores soil health and biodiversity, promotes climate resilience and improves farmers’ well-being. Its practices are supported by many agricultural scientists, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, farmers’ groups and several NGOs. It is therefore surprising that...

-The Hindu United Nations-led Conference to Combat Desertification assures ‘neutrality’ by 2030. New Delhi: A two-week long United Nations-led Conference to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) ended with a commitment to achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030. Such neutrality is defined by the U.N. as ensuring that enough land is available across the world to ensure a sustainable future. The Delhi Declaration, a consensus document, agreed upon by more than 100 countries “welcomed” the proposed...

-The Indian Express This comes even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the 14th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification on Monday, mentioned that “we are focusing on ZBNF”. India’s premier academic body of agricultural scientists has hit out at Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), terming it as an “unproven” technology bringing no incremental value gain to either farmers or consumers. “The government should not needlessly invest capital...

-Press release by All India Media Conference 2019   New Delhi, September 9, 2019: The fourth edition of All India Media Conference 2019 has come up with a new initiative to promote violence free childhood by organizing Walkathon at Udaipur, celebrating 30 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and 70 years of UNICEF India. A walkathon will be organised to highlight Violence-Free Childhood along the banks of...

-The Times of India Group, which has supported the Citizenship Bill, denies ties to the BJP, demands an ‘error-free’ register New Delhi: Seeking “sample re-verification” of Assam’s draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the Supreme Court, the Union Home Ministry, in its affidavit, attached a letter from an Assam-based NGO, Sachetan Nagrik Mancha, Axom (SNM), that had demanded an “error-free NRC”. The Supreme Court has directed that the final NRC be published...