Political

Agriculture is a vital sector in India with about 60% of the population engaged in agricultural vocations and contributing to about 30% of the GDP. It consumes about 80% of water used in the country and 76% of the net irrigated area in the country is from ground water sources.

This paper by the Madras Institute for Development Studies presents estimates of the ‘consumptive use’ of water in crop production; the ratio of consumptive use to gross water utilization; and productivity per unit of consumptive use.

Arsenic contamination of irrigation water, soil and crops in Bangladesh: Risk implications for sustainable agriculture and food safety in Asia.

Click here to download the paper

Read the main article: " Battle for work" by Jean Dreze and Reetika Khera.

The Right To Food Coalition website has many resources on NREGA and includes:

This would lead to a drastic increase in GHG emissions. There is the need to make a choice for a low-carbon path, even if there is no mandated reduction in GHG emissions.

This includes articles, background papers, photo slideshows and Down To Earth magazine coverage of issues realting to the NREGA.

Click here to read more about the NREGA

Arsenic (As) in groundwater is a major health concern in Asia and the risks from using shallow tube wells (STWs) for drinking-water are well- known. At present, twelve countries in the Asian region have reported high As levels in part of their groundwater resources.

This paper, published in the journal Development argues that new policy interventions such as Pani Panchayat in Orissa, India ignore the local socioeconomic contexts and fail to ensure co

SRI is an agroecological innovation that emerged as a civil society innovation and has since captured the imagination of thousands of farmers across the world, including India.