Sometimes simple solutions looking at the issue of timing and planting cycles can provide effective solutions.
For example, in India, mustard seeds were planted in September and harvested in late December/January.
But often, up to 30% of the harvest was often lost to frost.
In response, breeders worked on a seed with a shorter duration period, which enabled
Improving access to credit is essential to allow farmers to invest and grow. The Grameen Foundation is one of the leader in the field of microfinance and its loans are changing women’s lives.
For example, in India, Ellevva and her husband, Durgiah, live in a small, one room house made of mud and sticks. Before taking
Google recently launched a beta verison of a new knowledge-sharing software called Google Noticeboard in India. Noticeboard can be installed on a shared computer which can be accessed by a village’s farmers.
Users can then either record a voice message or write a text message which they can publish for others to see at a later
To overcome low literacy rates and limited connectivity, some projects provide “mediated access” through kiosks.
For instance, through its e-Choupal kiosks, agri-exporter ITC Limited in India works with independent small farmers.
Village internet kiosks managed by farmers themselves, enable the agricultural community access to information in their local language on the weather & market prices, disseminate knowledge
The plant science industry trains over 300,000 stakeholders every year in the safe use of its products and in integrated crop management (ICM).
Successful programs, like in India, have allowed farmers to improve the quality of their production and access new markets.
For example, Muvva Ramachandrao, a chili grower in Andra Pradesh, India, has been able to
GM crops and crop protection products can help increase yields by limiting losses.
Since 1996, the average yield impact across the total global area planted with insect resistant traits over the 11 year period has been +5.7 percent for corn traits (or an added 47 million tonnes of corn) and +11.1 percent for cotton traits (or
