Rainfed Agriculture

Often overlooked in food security policies, indigenous uncultivated wild food and traditional crops is a major source of dietary diversity for tribal communities since millennia.

With changing climatic and market conditions, Indian agriculture sector needs appropriate transition in cropping patterns to ensure sustainability in growth of the sector and inclusiveness of land-constrained farmers in the intensification process.

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification's (UNCCD) evidence-based flagship Global Land Outlook 2 (GLO2) report states that “as food prices soar amid rapid climate and other planetary changes, “crisis footing” needed to conserve, restore and use land sustainably.” The report is the most comprehensive consolidation of information on the topic ever assembled.

A recent study ‘Impact of large-scale, government legislated and funded organic farming training on pesticide use in Andhra Pradesh, India: a cross-sectional study’ assessed the impact of the Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) programme.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is one of the largest social protection programmes in the world, providing guarantee of income to some 55 million people every year.

This manual (third edition) in Hindi developed by Rajinder Chaudhary on natural farming, also known as organic, zero budget or alternative farming, is an attempt to spread awareness among Indian farmers about the above sustainable agriculture methods.

As per a Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction: Special Report on Drought 2021, released by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UND

COVID-19 induced significant economic and social disruptions in India. Rural households, including smallholders, were affected by loss in migrant income, livelihood and farm and non-farm income.

India has over 2,50,000 Gram Panchayats, which manage the governance of over 6,64,000 villages spread across the country.