-The Hindu The chopping off of the palms of two migrant workers is a wake-up call The gruesome incident of the chopping off of the palms of two migrant labourers of Kalahandi district of western Odisha by the labour contractor mafia in December 2013 should serve as a wake-up call. The incident highlights the ruthless extent to which the mafia can go to meet its ends and brings home the fact that...
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Legislation alone cannot suffice to deal with problem of hunger -Biraj Patnaik
-The Hindustan Times The passage of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) made 2013 a landmark year for the right to food in India. It was a small but significant step in the battle against hunger. If the year was witness to the emergence of a political consensus, nationally, on the right to food, the next year will need to be characterised more by action and not just intent. The principal challenge in...
More »Women in the forefront of fighting climate change through the ‘gola’ -Ajitha Menon
-Women's Feature Service The ‘gola' or grain basket, built on elevated ground in Goyadham village in Sunderban's South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, is central to the food security of several households here. As Sofia Bibi, 45, says, "The grain is protected from the recurrent flooding and storms and we are ensured of a regular supply when there is no agricultural work during the months of September to November and March to...
More »Is precision agriculture the solution to India's farming crisis? -Anil Rajvanshi
-IANS A small sugarcane farmer in western Maharashtra, Bhau Kadam (name changed) and his family, own about three hectares of land. He has two sons who are both graduates and work in Pune. When I asked him why he did not make his sons farmers, he says that farming is hard work, is non-remunerative and it is difficult to get labour. Besides he also thinks that farming is not glamorous, a farmer's...
More »India's food security act: Myths and reality-Vandana Shiva
-Al Jazeera The reforms promoted by Prime Minister Singh do not go far enough to help food production and the hungry. The debate on the Food Security Act is based on myths on both sides. The government is propagating the myth that it is the largest anti-poverty and anti-hunger programme ever introduced anywhere in the world. The programme is being heralded as Sonia Gandhi's dream project, and billed as a miracle solution...
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