New protocol can reduce breeding cycle of pigeonpea by 3-5 years, important for nutritional security in drylands

Technique will help scientists develop climate-resilient, nutritionally superior and higher-yielding pigeonpea varieties faster

Farm it like India

Novel, ground-breaking innovations to solve day-to-day problems faced by farmers 

Pomegranate king

Forests, fuel and fodder

From deficit to surplus: a success story of joint forest management from Sakwa, a tiny village in south Gujarat

Copying the West

Dyeing drylands

Recognising the role of pastoralists in agrarian development

The farmer-herder relationship of mutual benefit and care is threatened by commercialisation of agriculture

World status of land degradation

Look back in hope: What America’s Hopi people can teach us about living sustainably

Down To Earth talks to author Daniel Pinchbeck about what the Hopi Native Americans of Arizona can teach the modern world which is warming …

Anantapur farmers take up polycropping to drought-proof agriculture

As a result of natural farming practice that encourages polycropping, groundnut is no more the solo crop in many villages across the district

Let the drylands bloom

By maintaining terrestrial forestation to improve the soils, drylands can be saved from being further degraded

Gender bender

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY IN INDIA: CASES, MATERIALS AND STATUTES By Shyam Divan and Armin Rosencranz •Second edition • Published …

Karanda: Rural India's rich fruit

Karanda is a versatile but under-exploited plant found throughout the dry regions of India. It is cultivated for its edible fruits in Rajasthan, …

Pulses, neglected for long

Despite being a world leader in pulses production, India has been forced to import due to crop loss and seed deficit. The sharp rise in prices is …

The Shetty farm model

Engineer couple try out rainfed farming

Food production will need 165-600 million hectares more land to meet demand by 2050

Need to halt deforestation while ensuring food security, says report by FAO

Explainer: What is the Farmers Distress Index?

The index will try to anticipate this distress and prevent its spread from a few farmers to the village or block level

How a water project put women in charge and turned the fortunes of a dry Bengal village

With men quitting agriculture to work as unskilled labourers, women lead measures to curb soil erosion

Wet regions may behave like drylands: Study blames heatwaves, droughts

Europe, US might see desert-like changes due to current heatwaves, authors suggest

Upturned harvest

On a trip on the outskirts of Jaipur RAVLEEN KAUR finds farmers making money by following an unconventional practice

How India is killing the country’s largest economy of the poor

New restriction on cattle slaughter will severely cripple the livestock economy which is bigger than crop economy; poor farmers shifted to …

Drought in Kenya puts livestock at risk; crop failure triggers fear of starvation

Kenya is prone to drought because only 20 per cent of the country receives adequate and regular rainfall

Stalled monsoon to make little progress before June 25

In spite of unfavourable conditions, IMD expects a major progress of the monsoon in Central India

India needs to overhaul its approach towards agriculture

20 hectares of millet