Our Journey

The Foundation for Agrarian Studies (FAS) is a charitable trust established in 2003 and based in Bengaluru, India. As an independent research organisation, FAS is committed to facilitating multi-disciplinary theoretical and empirical enquiry in agrarian studies in India and other less-developed countries. It works as a network of a wide section of people interested in the agrarian question, including academic and other scholars, policy professionals, and members of mass organisations working in the countryside. The Foundation collaborates with young researchers and students, senior scholars, leading academic institutions, donor agencies, and governmental and intergovernmental organisations interested in different socio-economic aspects of rural life in India
2003 – 2010

*Foundation for Agrarian Studies is registered as a charitable trust in India (2003)
* Project on Agrarian Relations in India (PARI) launched (2005)
* The Foundation's first office is established in Kolkata (2005)
* FAS conducts its first surveys in three villages in Tripura — later published as the fourth volume of the Socio-Economic Surveys Series (2007)
* FAS conducts surveys in three villages in West Bengal (Panahar, Amarsinghi, Kalmandasguri), later published as the fifth volume of the Socio-Economic Surveys Series (2010)

2003 – 2010
2011 – 2020

* FAS launches its peer-reviewed journal, the Review of Agrarian Studies (RAS) (2011)
* The Foundation's office reocates to Bengaluru. A small whole-time research staff begins operating from the new office (2012)
* Tenth anniversary conference- "On Agrarian Issues" conference is held in Kochi, Kerala where over 150 delegates from India and 17 countries attended (2014)
* FAS resurveys the West Bengal villages (2015)
* The Socio-Economic Surveys of Two Villages in Rajasthan, the third book of the surveys series published (2015)
* FAS releases book, A New Statistical Domain (2016)
* Conference on"Small Scale Farming in India: Results from Field Surveys" held in Thiruvananthapuram (2016)
* The book Socio-Economic Surveys of Three Villages in Karnataka: A Study of Agrarian Relations is released (2017)
* Sandipan Baksi joins as Programme Coordinator (2018) * First Annual Public Lecture — M. S. Swaminathan (2018)
* International Conference on Women's Work in Rural Economies, November 30 – December 2 (2018)
Covid-19 Pandemic Study Unit established (2020)

2011 – 2020
2021 – 2025

* Young Scholars' Online Seminar Series (YSOSS) launched in April (2022)
* FAS celebrates twentieth anniversary (2023)
* The second edition of the Young Scholars' Online Seminar Series (YSOSS) runs through 2023–24 (2023)
* The third edition of the Young Scholars' Online Seminar Series (YSOSS) runs through 2024–25 (2024)
* New project launched: Dynamics of Agricultural Innovation in India on March 7(2025)
* MoU signed with ICAR-NBPGR in October (2025)
* International Conference on Agrarian Change, Thiruvananthapuram from November 6-9 (2025)

2021 – 2025
2026 Onwards

Dynamics of Agricultural Innovation in North India: One day Consultation in January (2026)

2026 Onwards

Milestones

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Our Journey

Madhura Swaminathan is Professor and Head, Economic Analysis Unit, Indian Statistical Institute Bangalore Centre. She is one the Trustees of the Foundation. Webpage