The indiscriminate use of fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides over the years has led to deterioration of soil quality and crop productivity in India. According to a study conducted by the central soil water conservation research and training institute (CSWCRTI), Dehra Dun, about 1 millimetre of top soil is lost every year due to erosion. This leads to a total soil loss of 5,334 million tonnes annually, at an average rate...

Union Minister K V Thomas’ pro-endosulfan speech is just a tip of the iceberg. It shows a smaller part of the Union Government’s policy of making profit by gambling the lives of common people. A Government of India enterprise itself is producing endosulfan in Kerala for the past three decades though it is not known much to others. The Government’s indifferent attitude towards the endosulfan-hit State is reflected in the factory standing...

Two walls of extremes are closing in fast on mankind. The spectre of climate change threatens agriculture, especially in developing countries where farming is dominated by smallscale farmers heavily relying on rainfall. Along with this, is the scourge of burgeoning population, which is likely swell to 9 billion in the next 40 years. According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), about 14% of the 6.5-billion world population are affected by...

Governments here and abroad are watching India's stand on Endosulfan at the sixth meeting of the Persistent Organic Pollutants' Review Committee (POPRC) of the Stockholm Convention that began in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday. While most of the governments represented at the Stockholm Convention are taking stands in favour of a global ban on Endosulfan, India is opposing it. The Kerala government has demanded a ban on the pesticide with Chief Minister...

The legacy of Industrial Agriculture With the world population passing the 6 billion mark last October, the debate over our ability to sustain a fast growing population is heating up. Biotechnology advocates in particular are becoming very vocal in their claim that there is no alternative to using genetically modified crops in agriculture if "we want to feed the world". Actually, that quote might be true. It depends what they mean...