Living Farms Newsletter
Living Farms Newsletter: Food Distribution System
Community Managed Decentralised Food Distribution System
In Orissa the farmers particularly in tribal districts are being encouraged to shift towards cash crops, particularly in dry land areas. Cotton has emerged to be the major crop in these areas which earlier had a very diverse array of millets, vegetables and greens. Today these food crops and associated uncultivated greens have been replaced by cotton, sunflower such other commercial crops.Gradually they were introduced hy yield rice, fertiliser & pesticide.
We have started working in three villages amongst 78 house holds of Bhatpur Panchayat of Bissamcuttack block of Rayagada district to establish community managed food distribution system in these three village.
Marker Assisted Selection
The development of molecular markers has changed the disciplines of plant genetics and plant breeding. While there are several applications of DNA markers in breeding, the most promising for cultivar development is called marker assisted selection (MAS).This is a process whereby a marker (morphological, biochemical or one based on DNA/RNA variation) is used for indirect selection of a genetic determinant or determinants of a trait of interest (i.e. productivity, disease resistance, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or quality). This process is used in plant and animal breeding.
An interview by us with an eminent breeder scientist Dr. Debal Deb.
Pesticide banned in 62 countries still used in India
Endosulfan is a highly hazardous pesticide responsible for deaths and acute and chronic poisonings throughout Asia and the world. The widely used insecticide is a target pesticide of PAN for worldwide elimination. Endosulfan is already banned in 62 countries and is under scrutiny at the international level. It is Persistent Organic Pollutant (POP) and is being considered under the Stockholm Convention for a worldwide ban. However, the Government of India, itself a major producer of endosulfan, opposes the ban.
