The revised draft Seeds Bill 2019, which the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare placed in the public domain recently for suggestions and comments, seems to be a watered down version of a draft prepared about nine years ago by the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Among other things, …
ANTS ARE hindering the return of forests on millions of hectares of abandoned pastures in Brazil by feeding on seeds of trees. According to a team of Brazilian and American researchers, two ant species -- Pheidole puttemansi and Solenopsis aurea found in the grasslands -- are voracious consumers of tree …
Fears over seed patents are exaggerated THOUGH farmers differ widely on the effect the so-called Dunkel Draft (DD) will have on agriculture, the influential section of intellectuals seems convinced the DD and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) will be overwhelmingly destructive. Unfortunately, the fact is that most …
SEVERAL writers have made a name for themselves by publishing dire warnings to developing countries of the dangers posed by new technology from the West. Many wind up exaggerating and making predictions that are as uncertain as those of the neighbourhood astrologer. However, Henk Hobbelink's book is a rarity as …
Thanks to the foresight of an American plant collector 20 years ago, several bean varieties are today resistant to a pest scientists had given up trying to control. During a trip to southern Mexico, H S Gentry recognised a wild vine considered a useless weed was, in fact, a wild …
IN THE flood-prone areas of eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa -- where many believe rice originated -- yields are only about one-fifth that of Punjab and Haryana because the rice spends most of its energy literally trying to keep its head above water and has only a …
THE NEED for a comprehensive book on forestry seeds has long been felt. Ram Prasad's and A K Kandhya's Handling of Forestry Seeds in India is therefore a welcome addition to the existing literature in this field. The book begins with a chapter on afforestation activity in the country and …
Vandana Shiva, is an Indian environmental activist and anti-globalization author. She was trained as a physicist and received her Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Western Ontario, Canada, in 1978 with the doctoral dissertation "Hidden variables and locality in quantum theory."She is one of the leaders and board members …
Navdanya started as a program of the Research Foundation for science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE), a participatory research initiative founded by world-renowned scientist and environmentalist Dr. Vandana Shiva, to provide direction and support to environmental activism.
