The MoEFCC's recent decision to exclude new-gen GM plants from the ambit of existing biosafety rules endangers our food system, food exports, farmers' rights over their crops and the country's biological heritage for the sake of corporate profits. Christmas came early for Big Biotech companies and...
The Sri Lankan crisis has brought deep sufferings in the neighbouring country. Food and agriculture seem to be at the centre stage of this crisis. Several commentators have blamed Sri Lanka’s decision to go organic as the root cause of this crisis. Furthermore, this event...
The Jaipur Literature Festival conjures up a lot of images not only for the mind’s eye but also for the soul and intellect of the attendees So, it’s a dark and somewhat hot night. The Rambagh Palace was beautified as a fair Rajput maiden, ready to...
Instead of building contours to hold water, the Chauka system is designed to hold a 9-inch water level spread over a field. Once the level is full, the water is drained and the moisture is recycled. It had been years since I had graduated, but it...
‘We never asked anyone to vote in a particular way, not even in our own households. We spoke about the Andolan and communal harmony. It was up to the people to go and vote as per their free will,’ says Rakesh Tikait. Rakesh Tikait had just...
Wheat, corn, cooking oil, fertiliser – the crisis is likely to affect all these prices. Have you been thinking that the Ukraine-Russia crisis is distant and doesn’t effect your home? Think again, because the odds may be stacked against you. The recent increase in fuel prices...
As Valentine’s Day approached, I finished another Edward Abbey book. Abbey, a crazy white bearded “desert-rat”, had ensnared me. Possessed with thoughts of a sandy paradise, I set sail for the Thar desert. Two days later, I was on the Jaisalmer-Jodhpur highway, flanked by three fellow...
Still reeling from the Covid-19 crisis, the Indian seed sector is being challenged by another deadly contamination: from Herbicide Tolerant (HT) Bt cotton. Reports from Maharashtra confirm that motivated agents are duping farmers and trying to sabotage the legal cottonseed business by channelling an illegal...
The artificial scarcity of oxygen and this oxygen famine is a result of bad policies and malicious political designs. I had never seen a man die gasping for breath until I met Chander Prakash. He was 43 years old, about 5'6'’ and with O2 saturation of...
With the state government's Land Reform Bill coming as a death knell for farmers, the Delhi protest against the farm laws has breathed new life into farmers' struggle. Hubali-Dharwad: By 5 pm a white i20 car adorned with a green ryot (farmer) flag was occupied by...