Indian Journal of Agriculture Business

Pesticides and fertilizers Excess or indiscriminate use of Pesticides and fertilizers has led to the entry of detrimental chemical compounds into food chain leading to serious health implications and deterioration of surrounding ecology. Besides, for sustainable agriculture system productivity and resource quality are also indispensable. In such situations, organic farming can play an important role to get-rid from these snags. Organic farming proliferates natural processes and cycles in harmony with environment. Hence, soil productivity and also pest control are maintained effectively. Organic agriculture contributes to food security by improving household food self-sufficiency and/or by building farmers’ self-reliance. Blending of modern science and traditional knowledge, organic agriculture is capable enough to convert low input and subsistent farms to more productive one with increased capacity to manage locally available resources. Thus, enhanced food production, income generation and ecological conservation set the path towards sustainable development.

Indian agriculture started having both institutional reform and structural adjustment since 1960. In 1952 and with the inception of Community Development Programme (CDP), we introduced what we call, a comprehensive approach by grossly conglomerating the different rural institutions for a loosely defined rural development activities. The resources allotted were extremely scant and the number of functions attempted was extremely high; nevertheless community development programme, unleashed a huge pool of activities and humongous impact as well. So, global statistics indicate that women are less likely to be involved in planning, research development or application of science than men. Statistics further indicate that women are unequally represented in science and their career progression is not comparable to their male colleagues. Why is it that the numbers of women in scientific institutions remain below those of men? Where the participation and contribution of women in Indian agriculture are not only integral but also comprehensive. Farm women are participating to tune of 70–80% in all agriculture operations. Their participations are very much distinct in raising of seedlings, intercultural operation, weeding, harvesting and post harvest value addition activities. So in this changing scenario of Indian agriculture, there is a strong need for institutional innovations to foster the faster reach of innovations to the farmers and farm women as well.

Keywords: Agriculture; Farm women; Gender; Institution; Training.

The green revolution in India has basically been the resultant of seed-fertilizer-water application with massive participation of famers, scientists and executor at different level to usher a quantum jump of food grain production, from 55 MT(1955) to 120 MT(1970). But the dividend of green revolution has been outnumbered by fall out in ecological balances due to injudicious use of agrochemicals associated with farm mechanization led soil erosion and compaction. The skewed focus on selected high yielding gene in rice and wheat has been responsible for loss of crop biodiversity. In our operating agroecosystem, the provider of food-fuel-fodder, water is contaminated, soil is eroded, organic carbon is depleted and biodiversity is marginalized. So, we need to have Conservation Agriculture through minimizing soil disturbances, retention of crop residues and sustainable intensification in classical crop rotation. All these being done with a goal to protect and preserve our precious natural resources, stabilizing and augmenting food production and livelihood for millions, and, of course making our agro-ecosystem more resilient to generate dedicated ecological services to mankind and other life forms to save our civilization. The text of conservation agriculture is more contextual when the brunt of climate change is becoming more deleterious and complex. The issues of farmers’ participation stand so critical simply because without their participation, no conservation agriculture is possible.

Keywords: Conservation agriculture; Climate change; Ecological services, Ecological resilience, Retention of crop residue.

A buffalo of 4 lactations was presented to the Teaching Veterinary Clinical Complex, NTRC VSc., Gannavaram with a case history of lacrimation, pinkness of both the eyes and mild conjuctivitis. The lacrimal samples were collected aseptically and sent for further laboratory diagnosis for confirming the causative agent. The colonies were mucoid with sticky in nature, on Grams staining characteristic diploccoci were observed, produced β–hemolysis on blood agar and biochemically oxidase and catalase positive provisionally suggestive of Moraxella bovis. The bacterium was susceptible to tetracyclines.