As we mark World Soil Day 2025 under the banner of “Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities,” the irony is stark. We are celebrating the vital link between urban resilience and soil health while staring down a barrel of data that suggests we are failing on both fronts. I see this year not just as a celebration, but as a…
India-US trade offs ?
India’s development model today rests on a fragile but politically convenient formula: chemicals for farmers, cash for voters.It is a system designed not to solve problems, but to manage them till the next election cycle. At the heart of this lies a political economy where fertilizer lobbies, agricultural subsidies, and now large-scale pre-election cash transfer schemes like Ladli/Ladki Behna define…
The Union Department of Fertilisers has taken strong action against unfair practices in the fertiliser market. They have cancelled or suspended over 4,200 licenses and registrations belonging to fertiliser distributors. These actions were taken because of black marketing, hoarding, and diverting fertiliser stocks away from farmers. This is a significant effort to protect farmers and…
India’s seed systems are among the oldest and most diverse in the world. Long before the state formalised agricultural regulations or private companies entered the sector, farmers, tribal communities, and women seed keepers nurtured, exchanged, and evolved seeds through relationships of trust, commons governance, and deep ecological knowledge. It is this decentralised, biodiversity-rich, community-led seed…
9 November 2025 Experts in Nagpur have warned that trapping or sterilizing leopards will not solve Maharashtra’s rising leopard–human conflict and urged the Forest Department to adopt a long-term, research-led policy to reduce future numbers responsibly. They stressed the need for scientific studies and a clear policy framework to guide population management rather than ad‑hoc…
A food systems analysis of the Nagpur protest.November 7, 2025 When farmers led by Prahar Janshakti Party chief Bacchu Kadu blocked National Highway 44 in Nagpur for three days in late October, it wasn’t just another agrarian protest—it was a symptom of systemic failure decades in the making. The agitation, which brought traffic to a…
Maruthanganallur, Sivagangai : Pastoral communities across Tamil Nadu convened on November 2, 2025, to discuss mounting challenges in traditional livestock migration routes and demand legislative protection for their livelihoods. The meeting, organized by the Tamil Nadu Federation of Pastoral Peoples Sangams (TFPPS) under State President Rajiv Gandhi, brought together 35 participants including pastoral herders, NGO representatives,…
Choosing the Soil Over Steel Mandar Deshpande, a mechanical engineer by training, made a transformative decision to leave behind a conventional career and embrace organic farming in Wardha, Maharashtra. His journey is rooted in a desire for a stress-free, environmentally conscious life, one that prioritizes well-being, sustainability, and community over profit. Living by Choice, Not…
