The link between increasingly severe climate events and the rising suicide rate among India’s farmers has long been a concern. But with the latest national data reporting the highest ever number of deaths by suicide, effective action to prevent the risk factors endangering farmers — and the climate events that...

A study in Andhra Pradesh compares three prevalent farming methods, analysing their overall benefits such as production, economic impact and social and health implications.The study concludes that community-based natural farming offers superior benefits in terms of higher yields, crop diversity and income for farmers.While natural farming is being increasingly adopted...

A pioneering new study analysing the costs and benefits of different farming systems gives new evidence to support agroecological natural farming as a key approach to help feed communities and transition farmers to nature-positive outcomes in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This first-of-its-kind research, led by impact data and...

Agroecology is an integrated approach that simultaneously applies ecological and social concepts and principles to the design and management of food and agricultural systems. It seeks to optimize interactions between plants, animals, humans and the environment, while taking into account the social aspects that need to be addressed for a...

IGGAARL, also referred as Academy, is a collaborative institution set up by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, India with support from the Government of Germany on the 7th of July 2022. Now, after a year, it has geared up and launched a four-year Farmer Scientist Course (FSC) in Natural Farming....

Food systems are major contributors, but also critically vulnerable, to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. The food sector uses more natural resources than any other sector, which means that the way in which food systems are governed has direct consequences for how natural resources...

As the State Fisheries Department prepares to launch its new artificial reef scheme, the Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott (GRE) is urging the government to first implement this initiative in areas where fishing zones have been adversely affected. The Fisheries Department is set to commence the establishment of artificial reefs across 14 villages...

The industrialized food system is one of the biggest stressors on planetary health, contributing to almost a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions and causing immense biodiversity loss. This model is no longer fit for purpose; it is failing people and the planet. The pioneering new study, Natural Farming Through a...

A workplace should have a roof, proper flooring, entry and exit points, along with sufficient space for movement during emergency. The floor surface should be flat, stable and dry; it should be appropriate for the nature of work involved. The workplace should also have good lighting and ventilation, so that...

The Training of Trainers workshop on the National Fisheries Policy (Inland) in December 2022 in Kolkata was a great learning experience for the participants. Just that this time around, the learning was of a different nature. It was not from data, facts, meetings or experiences but from many uncomfortable realizations....

Inland fishers and activists mingled with experts at a workshop on training of trainers on India’s fisheries policy. A prerequisite for implementing the ‘Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication’ (the SSF Guidelines) is to mainstream these into the State’s policy and...

The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) Trust organized a National Training of Trainers (TOT) workshop on the SSF Guidelines (Marine Fisheries), India at Asha Nivas Social Service Centre, Chennai, India, on October 13-15, 2022. There were sixtyseven participants from the coastal states of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra...

The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) Trust organized a National Training of Trainers (TOT) workshop on the SSF Guidelines (Inland Fisheries), India at Seva Kendra, Kolkata, India on December 22-24, 2022. There were forty-eight participants from the states of Assam, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Rajasthan...

A Singapore-based Sri Lankan Tamil entrepreneur has suggested a few small-scale agro-based projects with Indian private sector investment to help the hard-pressed fishermen and farmers of the North and East.  Taking into consideration the travails of the North Sri Lankan fishermen who have not been able to get their legitimate share...

Community participation and the use of technology in disaster response as well as the role of local self-government institutions (LSGI) in fisheries management were the highlights of a two-day workshop on Sea Safety and Fisheries Management in the southern state of Kerala. It was organized jointly by ICSF and the...

From November 2021 to January 2023, throughout the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022), Coast 2 Coast (C2C), a Peruvian community-based nonprofit, collaborated with rural educators and young learners from public schools, nonprofits, and social welfare centers located in inland and coastal small-scale fishing villages in Peru,...

Purnima Meher is a staunch advocate of women fishworkers in the coastal state of Maharashtra in India. Purnima, who was born into a fishing community, is a postgraduate in Sociology from the prestigious SNDT University, Pune, and has worked as a social activist in her home state of Maharashtra for...

‘Going to the field is compulsory for our students’ – told a professor, ‘…even I go to field regularly. As you see, the knowledge of the farmers is quite poor, particularly about the latest technologies.’ ‘We go to collect data to understand farmer’s problem’ – chirped a student from behind. Our...

One of the most important staple foods, rice, is agronomically- and nutritionally-sound and provides the calories needed by around half the world’s population. There is an urgent need to take all necessary actions to produce rice in a sustainable manner in order to fulfil the future demand for food that...

The study is a part of a series of original research on social development and sustainable fisheries undertaken by ICSF in eight countries. The study documented the status of social development and decent work programmes, schemes, policies, legislation and institutional support (including community-based initiatives) to demonstrate how they strengthen the...