-The Hindu Business Line Sustainable business model ensures fair price for growers and buyers alike It is perhaps the only organised market where farmers fix the price for their produce, by attaching a distinct value to the technique and cost of production. The Organic Farmers Market (OFM), a network of 20 outlets, has become an important destination for organic produce in Chennai. It connects directly to about 200 farmers and indirectly to a...

-The Hindu Business Line The entire tea industry in India faces an uncertain future. And young people don’t want to work in tea gardens anymore After a steady run for nearly a decade, the tea industry is now facing tough times. Both, production of gardens in the organised sector and leaf prices are virtually stagnating. And exports no longer hold out much promise. Between January and July this year, all-India production was 553.21...

-The Hindu On Thursday midnight, the Union Environment Ministry submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), committing to cut the emissions intensity of GDP by 33-35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 levels. The INDCs, which lay out the blueprint for tackling climate change, emphasised eight key goals — sustainable lifestyles, cleaner economic development, reducing emission intensity of GDP, increasing the share of...

-The Hindu Kutalapalli in Anantapur district has more borewells per capita than any other village in the world. All but three of them are dry   It's as if the entire village has become poor by just drilling borewells.-B. Venkat Reddy, farmer    KUTALAPALLI (Telengana): Welcome to Kutalapalli village in Nallamada mandal, once famous for its quality raw silk. Once upon a time, this village amidst two hills had ample water for mulberry cultivation. Cut...

-DNA   A poisoned country   A few weeks ago, India entered into an agreement with the UN to end the use of the insecticide DDT by 2020. DDT had been used in agriculture for decades until it was restricted in 1989, but 6,000 tonnes of DDT are still produced annually for the eradication of mosquitoes and other pests. This would be perfectly understandable, except for the simple fact that DDT has become...