-The News Minute Kerala: A group of 101 families has created a small yet strong challenge to the idea that farming requires modern science to thrive. Since 2006, Vengeri, a village in Kozhikode district, has revolutionized everyday living and has set an example by not only managing sustainable organic farming, challenging genetically modified crops and also efficient waste management practices. Thanks to Niravu, a residential association of 100 odd homes, today Vengeri is...

-Frontline NAIB SINGH hanged himself a fortnight ago in the land he had been tilling for five years at Bareh village in Mansa district of Punjab. He had hoped for a successful rabi wheat crop, but unseasonal rains reduced him to further penury. The 25-year-old left behind a debt burden of Rs.10 lakh for his family. His mother, Mahinder Kaur, does not know whether to mourn her son's death or lament...

-The Times of India NAGPUR: Almost 50% of women in Borgaon Gondi, a tribal village in Wardha district, are anaemic. This is not because of poverty or non-availability of nutritious food. Most farmers in the village own 2-5 acres land except a few who own above 50 acres. It is sheer ignorance about what to eat and the general neglect of women and children that are the main causes. However, there is...

-Economic and Political Weekly While the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act 2001 is a progressive piece of legislation that recognises farmers' rights to seed, it demands payment of an annual maintenance fee by the farmers to protect the varieties which they have been cultivating and conserving for years, only because these varieties have been brought under legal protection through national legislation. Parameswaran Prajeesh (prajeesh@mssrf.res.in) is a researcher with the...

-The Times of India NAGPUR: Subhash Vasant Kamdi and Varsha Anant Bhoyar, organic farmers from Wardha and Nagpur districts, respectively, have set ideal examples for promoting indigenous agriculture and processing. They are also propagating how traditional agriculture can still be more sustainable as compared to commercial agriculture. Kamdi has been into organic cultivation of various crops like wheat and sugarcane. Speaking to TOI during the ongoing three-day 'Seed Festival', he said that...