Page 2 - Surinder Sud

Incentivise eco-friendly fertilisers

Consumer demand for the products grown without the use of toxic chemicals is steadily climbing

Gender discrimination in farms

Growing rural-to-urban migration by men was leading to "feminisation" of the agriculture sector

A G20 opportunity for millets

While the requirements for plant-based food, feed, fuel, and fibre are growing rapidly, the farm sector's capacity to satisfy these needs is getting constrained

Some fodder for thought

Uptrend in milk prices can be attributed chiefly to the steadily worsening shortage and the resultant surge in the prices of fodder and feed, accounting for nearly 65% of the cost of milk production

Saving the land for better use

In India, the economic loss due to land degradation and changes in land use pattern was estimated in 2014-15 at Rs 3.17 trillion

Sinful waste that needs to be stopped

The menace of hunger or undernourishment can be mitigated to a considerable extent just by curtailing the wastage of raw food and making a better use of the left-over cooked food

The return of the millets

The research and development initiatives on millets received the much-needed impetus after 2018, which was observed as the National Year of Millets

Growing across nations and continents

According to agriculture ministry estimates, exotic fruits were grown in 2021-22 in over 2.8 million hectares. The area under such crops was almost negligible in the early 2000s

Food growers can be processors too

A higher level of processing would generate additional income for farmers and off-farm employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for rural people

Breaking ground and filling the gaps

Unfortunately, not all states are equally upbeat about agri-start-ups and the role they can play in the development of the agri-rural sector

Floriculture can flower more

The net profit from growing flowers, on per unit of land, can be 10 to 20 times higher than from most field crops

A cultivated idea for cities

The latest notable initiative to promote growing useful plants in a metro city is the recently announced urban farming project of the Delhi government

Aerial boon for farming

Interestingly, India seems to have the potential to become the global leader in manufacturing and gainfully utlising these mini aircraft

Direct paddy sowing reaps benefits

The key advantage of constant submergence is that it keeps weeds under check

Medicinal plants await good marketing

Fortunately, India is endowed with a huge and diversified wealth of plant species having curative traits

Tapping the usefulness of non-bovine milk

The commercial importance of the milk aside, these non-bovine animals merit greater attention for other reasons as well

Digitisation of farm data needs awareness

Interestingly, the agriculture-related data of about 55 million farmers has already been digitised

Nutrition through biofortification

The benefits of the biofortified crops have been corroborated even by the actual impact assessment studies on children and women

Making a case for goat farming

'The country is fortunate to have a rich diversity of goat breeds', says the author

Cloning overcomes prejudices

The development and popularisation of this technology can be a boon for the Indian livestock sector, which relies heavily on buffalo milk