Madhura Swaminathan and V. K. Ramachandran attempt to draw the contours of “The Tripura Model” of development based on the study of the three villages in the State of Tripura, conducted by the Foundation for Agrarian Studies in May-June 2016. The note, which has been published in The Hindu is republished here.
Electricity Tariffs and Boro Rice Cultivation in West Bengal
Groundwater is a major source of irrigation in West Bengal, with about 65 per cent of irrigated area under tube well irrigation. Under the present government, there has been a rapid hike in power tariffs for agriculture and it has affected the cultivation of summer crops in the State, particularly the cultivation of water-intensive boro (summer) paddy.
Small farmers in Indian Agriculture
This volume is a very important contribution to development studies in India and other parts of South and Southeast Asia. The dynamics of agriculture remain a critical factor in the social progress of these countries, and this careful and detailed research will provide a basis for constructing more effective development policies in India and elsewhere.
Women’s Access to Land
Women’s control over land and property is recognised to be an important factor in women’s socio-economic status and empowerment. We report some interesting results on the subject from a quick analysis of data from eight villages (located in Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab and Karnataka) surveyed by the Foundation for Agrarian Studies.
Rural Women Work (At Least) 50 Hours a Week
Women work for at least 50 hours a week. This is our finding from a one-week labour diary or time-use survey conducted in Siresandra village of Kolar, Karnataka in May 2017. As part of a project on Women in Rural Production Systems, the Foundation for Agrarian Studies team interviewed 14 women on all the activities undertaken every day for a week.
How Do Small Farmers Fare? Evidence from Village Studies in India
The book titled “How Do Small Farmers Fare: Evidence from Village Studies in India”, edited by Madhura Swaminathan and Sandipan Baksi, is a study of the small farm economy in India by the Foundation for Agrarian Studies.
Misunderstanding Data, Poor Analysis, and Wrong Conclusions
A recent paper, published by the PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences of the United States) and authored by Tamma A. Carleton, titled “Climate Change and Agricultural Suicides in India” claims that “temperature during India’s main agricultural growing season has a strong positive effect on annual suicide rates.” Regrettably, the paper has received widespread uncritical coverage in the Indian media.
A Prestigious Award for Jun-ichi Okabe
The Japan Society of Economic Statistics has presented its 2017 Award to Jun-ichi Okabe, Professor, Yokohama National University, for the book he wrote with Aparajita Bakshi, A New Statistical Domain in India: An Enquiry into Village Panchayat Databases, Tulika Books, New Delhi, 2016.
The Effects of Extreme Temperature on Crop Yield in Karnataka
One of the immediate consequences of climate variability is the occurrence of extreme weather events, which are expected to increase in the future as global warming intensifies. A study of climate change and agricultural yield in Karnataka, supported by the Karnataka Agricultural Price Commission (Jayaraman, et al. 2017), was recently undertaken to analyse the relationship between extreme temperatures and crop yield at the sub-district (taluka) level for selected crops.
Forests and Food Security
There is an interesting new report on forests and food security from the High Level Panel of Experts of the Committee on World Food Security (HLPE 2017).
