From identifying plant pests to picking fruit, AI is reinventing how farmers produce your food
A sophisticated form of artificial intelligence known as deep learning could help make agriculture more efficient and environmentally friendly
Climate change blues: ‘everyday monsoon’ foxes Mizoram farmers
Changing rainfall pattern and rising temperatures are forcing them to move away from traditional farming and grow exotic crops
Indian scientists develop transgenic rice that can withstand drought
Under water scarce conditions created in laboratory, the transgenic rice performed better than their unmodified counterparts
Faced with water crisis, Karnataka now wants to revive millet cultivation
Millets consume at least 70 per cent less water than other crops and require minimum inputs
Planting problems
Forest development corporations fell rich forests to raise plantations, undermining people's rights and biodiversity. It's time India introduced …
The seeds of trouble
Privatisation of tea and rubber plantations has endangered the flora and fauna in southern Sri Lanka
The Eklingapura experience
A joint forest management initiative succeeded at Eklingapura mainly because foresters were able to respond to the needs of the community.
Wood substitutes threaten plywood industry
A CPWD proposal to ban use of timber in construction has generated friction between manufacturers of wood substitutes and plywood, with each side …
Going back to the past for a better future
The Tarun Bharat Sangh is helping drought-hit villagers of Alwar district of Rajasthan grow crops by reviving a traditional system of dam …
Dal hybrid beneficial but costly
The hybridisation of tur dal has made it higher-yielding and less vulnerable to disease. But only rich farmers will be able to buy the seeds.
Crop species disappearing in Garhwal
A survey reveals a drastic fall in Garhwal Himalayan crop diversity. Compounding the seriousness of the situation is the lack of scientific …
Asia grapples with GM crops
Victory for anti-GM crusaders in Pakistan is short-lived as government gets high court ban on genetically modified crops suspended
A land imagined: Indigenous crops help Marathwada women in adding to family nutrition
Women in Maharashtra's Marathwada region reclaim parts of their farmland to grow produce of choice and to ensure nutrition security of their …
State after state fail to procure kharif paddy
2 months into procurement season, 83% paddy lifted from Punjab & Haryana only
Why global food prices are higher today than for most of modern history
The drivers of average international food prices are always complicated. The prices of different commodities rise and fall based on universal …
Trick question: Why is food production up despite fewer pollinators
In the last 50 years, the global agriculture’s reliance on crops dependent on pollinators like bees has grown by 300 per cent
Revoking Monsanto's GM cotton patent is of little help to farmers let down by the technology
Designed to resist the bollworm pest, Monsanto's Bollgard II is seen as useless as the pink bollworm ravages cotton fields across the country
New guar gum-based hydrogel can help save drought-hit crops
The guar gum-based hydrogel is biodegradable and adds organic content to the soil upon degradation
Plucking out problems
Tea estates in Darjeeling are embracing innovative techniques to combat the impacts of climate change
Resisting GM crops is our responsibility: expert
Genetically modified crops are “Terminator technology” that kills the basic instinct for survival
‘Farmers are not casino players’
Micha X Peled, US-based Israeli filmmaker, has won 22 international awards for his globalisation trilogy, the last of which was a film on …
Vanishing breeds
While debating the ways to attain global food security, national governments ignore the most pertinent issue: rapidly disappearing agro-biodiversity
Arid conditions in 78% of India; may affect summer crops
Southwest monsoon season in Kerala expected around June 4; 80% chance of El Niño event in May-June-July
Food price inflation rate in rural India has doubled in a year
Food price rise has been fuelling overall inflation in India in recent months
Using wastewater to grow crops can address water scarcity in agriculture
Water is vital for food production and climate change threatens this most precious resource