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Context is everything.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Unless we make preserving the quality (and quantity) of our agricultural lands the priority in policy and actions, all attempts to boost productivity will be futile.
Editor's note: One of the oldest concerns around Indian agriculture is the relatively lower productivity of our farmlands. Given our large population that keeps on growing, the implications of low productivity on national food security are significant. There are many factors that impact productivity, but the ones that get attributed for it the most are our dependence on the monsoon, improper use of soil nutrients, small landholdings, low mechanization and lack of access to credit and new agri-technologies. There is a lot of buzz around solving these problems. This focus on mechanization and technology is reflected in the Union Budget for 2022-23, which mentions digital and high-tech services for farmers, kisan drones and machinery rentals, among other structural remedies for the agricultural system. Here, again, we are missing the woods for the trees. Well-intentioned as they are, these are cosmetic remedies that can’t tackle the more significant challenges of climate change, water availability and the underlying quality of the land itself. We have only just started acknowledging the impact of climate change, which will determine crop choices and farming practices in the …
Unless we make preserving the quality (and quantity) of our agricultural lands the priority in policy and actions, all attempts to boost productivity will be futile.
Editor's note: One of the oldest concerns around Indian agriculture is the relatively lower productivity of our farmlands. Given our large population that keeps on growing, the implications of low productivity on national food security are significant. There are many factors that impact productivity, but the ones that get attributed for it the most are our dependence on the monsoon, improper use of soil nutrients, small landholdings, low mechanization and lack of access to credit and new agri-technologies. There is a lot of buzz around solving these problems. This focus on mechanization and technology is reflected in the Union Budget for 2022-23, which mentions digital and high-tech services for farmers, kisan drones and machinery rentals, among other structural remedies for the agricultural system. Here, again, we are missing the woods for the trees. Well-intentioned as they are, these are cosmetic remedies that can’t tackle the more significant challenges of climate change, water availability and the underlying quality of the land itself. We have only just started acknowledging the impact of climate change, which will determine crop choices and farming practices in the …
The war in West Asia offers a preview of how India’s next conflict could unfold—fast, multi-domain, drone-saturated and under a nuclear shadow. New Delhi must learn quickly.
The oil giant’s chief says the ongoing Mideast conflict and the consequent Strait of Hormuz disruption could have catastrophic consequences; a look at the conflict’s effect in Bahrain.
Divergent narratives from the Haryana government and the lender raise deeper questions on oversight, authorizations and systemic lapses—answers that may emerge only after a forensic audit.
The war in West Asia offers a preview of how India’s next conflict could unfold—fast, multi-domain, drone-saturated and under a nuclear shadow. New Delhi must learn quickly.
The oil giant’s chief says the ongoing Mideast conflict and the consequent Strait of Hormuz disruption could have catastrophic consequences; a look at the conflict’s effect in Bahrain.
Divergent narratives from the Haryana government and the lender raise deeper questions on oversight, authorizations and systemic lapses—answers that may emerge only after a forensic audit.
