"There are an estimated 80,000 edible plant species on earth", says the ‘Gaia Atlas of Planet Management’

Though seemingly far-reaching, the importance of considering an agroecological alternative is apparent if one considers current malnutrition and hunger statistics, as well as India’s ongoing agrarian crisis. Indeed, we often forget that food is not simply a commodity, but a throbbing and dynamic expression of history, culture and civilisation

This alternative approach may perhaps be best described as a biomass based strategy for sustainable prosperity

If an individual house can be insured against a natural disaster, why can’t an individual crop field be insured in the same manner?

A down-to-earth designer's take on grandiose design, in the 'comic' format.

Responsible governance, economic security for the maximum numbers and ecological sustainability are the three key challenges facing the country today. Ashish Kothari deconstructs the Congress, BJP and AAP manifestos to see what these parties promise on these fronts.

While human beings lived as hunters and gatherers, 500 calories of human effort yielded 2000 calories of food produce. Until the industrial era, farming was still a net producer of energy. Today the food system has turned into a net user of energy, as it takes 7-10 calorie of fossil energy to produce 1 calorie of food produce. When fossil fuel runs out (during lifetime of most of us alive today) the effects will be felt on food production and supply.

With a large and growing population, high poverty rates, and a need to ensure food security, water is highly politicized. The diverse opinions and resulting disputes between South Asian countries regarding shared waters has resulted in few strategies for basin level cooperation in the face of changing requirements and variable water quantities.

The problem of water security in South Asia is rooted more in spatial and temporal variation of precipitation and flows, rather than absolute scarcity. If the skewed water availability in nature and the pattern of water requirement round the year can be brought closer to each other , water security for South Asia may not be a difficult target