Market access determines the income of agricultural households and incentivizes the cultivation of diverse crops. Markets in India are mostly unorganized with limited infrastructure limiting their ability to cater to quality requirements and specifications demanded by urban consumers. Therefore, parallel to traditional markets, direct linkages with farms and alternative markets based on electronic sales platforms, new commodity futures and warehousing systems are needed.
The paper analyses the linkages that prevail between women’s empowerment, agriculture and household consumption, through a case study of an initiative for empowerment of women farmers, Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP), undertaken by the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), which became a government-funded national-level programme in 2010..
Timely availability of reliable information on weather conditions, agro-advisories, and market information can help to minimize losses in agriculture. This paper presents a scientific and integrated approach to identify areas of high agriculture vulnerability to climate change and availability of ICT services for dissemination of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) information in the vulnerable areas. This study was illustrated for India where the majority of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods, and this sector is highly vulnerable to climate change.
Agriculture in South Asia is vulnerable to climate change. Therefore, adaptation measures are required to sustain agricultural productivity, to reduce vulnerability, and to enhance the resilience of the agricultural system to climate change. There are many adaptation practices in the production systems that have been proposed and tested for minimizing the effects of climate change. Some socioeconomic and political setup contributes to adaptation, while others may inhibit it.
To augment youth employment, the Government of India has launched a number of skills training programs. This paper deals with participation in and the impact of one of these programs [Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushal Yojana (DDUGKY)] located in rural Bihar, one of India’s poorest states. The analysis is based on data collected in mid-2016 and compares trained participants with non-participants who applied for the scheme but eventually did not attend
Rainfed agriculture with nearly 58% of the cultivated area is home to about 40% of human and 60% of livestock population in India and contributes 40% of the country's food production. Even after full realizing the full irrigation potential of the country, half of the cultivated area will continue to be under rainfed farming which highly dependent on monsoon rainfall. It is widely believed that increasing rainfall variability is likely to affect the livelihoods of millions of small and marginal farmers in the years to come.
Rapid climatic and socio-economic changes challenge current agricultural R&D capacity. The necessary quantum leap in knowledge generation should build on the innovation capacity of farmers themselves. A novel citizen science methodology, triadic comparisons of technologies or tricot, was implemented in pilot studies in India, East Africa, and Central America. The methodology involves distributing a pool of agricultural technologies in different combinations of three to individual farmers who observe these technologies under farm conditions and compare their performance.
The startups are an exemplar that great things are done by a series of small things brought together. Taking one small step at a time, moving from one problem to another and solving the issues by disruptive innovation is what these startups are trying to achieve. The startups are not only creating new jobs which means more employment but are also leaving a ripple effect on the socio-economic fabric of the demography in which they are operating. The world has become a playfield for these young entrepreneurs as the global startup revolution continues to grow.
Agriculture is the back bone of Indian economy. Time bound high-quality agro services are essential for the growth of agriculture in our country. The present study was conducted among the beneficiary farmers Agro Service Centres in Kerala, during the year 2018-19. The sample of the study comprised 120 farmers from purposively selected 26 Agro Service Centres. Performance effectiveness of Agro Service Centres was measured in terms of Performance Effectiveness Index (PEI).
This book highlights the important links between agriculture and nutrition, both direct and indirect, both theoretical and practical. It explores these relationships through various frameworks, such as value chains, programmes and policies, as well as through diverse perspectives, such as gender. It assesses the impacts of various agricultural interventions and policies on nutrition and profiles the up-and-down journeys of countries such as Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, India, and Malawi in integrating nutrition into agricultural policies and programmes.