Small-scale farmers can double food production in a decade by using simple ecological methods, according to the findings of a new United Nations study released today, which calls for a fundamental shift towards agroecology as a poverty alleviation measure. “To feed 9 billion people in 2050, we urgently need to adopt the most efficient farming techniques available,” says Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food and...

The need for the media to take voluntary, not paid, ownership of creating awareness for better participation of voters in the election process was recommended at a roundtable on the “Role of media in building voters' awareness” here on Friday. The recommendation was part of a national consultation on voters' participation organised by the Election Commission (EC). Other roundtables at the consultation pertained to fighting urban apathy, connecting with youth in...

Dr Howarth E Bouis, director of HarvestPlus, is a doctorate from Stanford University. He is promoting biofortification within the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, agricultural research and nutrition community in various countries. What is biofortification of crops? Biofortification is a process where plant breeders explore crop genetic diversity in seed banks and create a crop that is rich in specific micronutrients. There are two ways to biofortify crops—conventional plant breeding and...

The GoM to determine the norms for coalmine clearance in reserve forests, largely in tribal areas, and the parallel exercise to give back forest lands to tribals is not about the environment, but about forest policy. The divergence of interests between national use of forests, ecological balance and needs of local people should be recognised. However, the tribal affairs ministry is responsible for the Forest Rights Act and the coal...

India today slammed the US and other parties to the Copenhagen Accord for failing to deliver "fast track" financial obligations to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and other nations facing the risk of climate change. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said the United States and other parties to the Copenhagen Accord had agreed to raise USD 30 billion for helping poor nations most at risk of climate change. "The continued inability to deliver on...