Since the advent of the Green Revolution popularised use of excessive irrigation and fertilisers in India in the 1960s, biodynamic farming, an advanced form of organic farming, had largely faded into oblivion. Biodynamic farming, a return to natural farming free from the use of pesticides and chemicals, is readying for a revival in Punjab, the hub of the Green Revolution in the country. While organic farming is basically a holistic management...

India has been lauded for its remarkable overall economic growth of over 8% over the last five years. But despite this high and relatively stable growth, India's underbelly is soft. The agriculture sector is performing below expectations, with growth rate of around 2.8%, it is way below the Eleventh Plan target of 4%. The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) estimates that 22% of India's population is undernourished. Child malnutrition is...

Warmer nights may spoil the aroma of basmati and cause the rice to become sticky when cooked, scientists have warned after a study of how climate change may affect the quality of rice. Field experiments by scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, suggest that high temperatures could hurt the quality of rice through loss of aroma and changes in starch leading to higher stickiness. Several previous studies have...

“Governments and international agencies urgently need to boost ecological farming techniques to increase food production and save the climate,” said UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier De Schutter, while presenting the findings at an international meeting on agroecology held in Brussels on 21 and 22 June. Along with 25 of the world’s most renowned experts on agroecology, the UN expert urged the international community to re-think current agricultural...

For years now, at least since India passed amendments to the Patent Act to allow product patents in 2005, patents on drugs have coloured and overwhelmed the debate on health issues in the country. Now, the issue of patents on seeds and agriculture inputs promises to become the hot new topic. An indication is the response to a news report “Battle royal over Bt cotton royalty” (May 28, Business Standard)...