Farming

October’s changing weather can be tough on farms. These seven practical water-saving tips help farmers protect crops, save costs, and make every drop count.

Multi-layer farming transforms small farms into thriving ecosystems by using every inch of land. With year-round harvests, higher incomes, and resilience to climate change, it can be the future of sustainable agriculture in India.

Indian farmers face the dual challenge of feeding 1.5 billion people by 2030 and conserving 80% of freshwater resources. Precision farming offers a tech-driven solution that boosts yields, cuts waste, and supports long-term sustainability on small farms averaging just 1.08 hectares.

In 2019, Shivraj Nishad from Shekhpur village in Kanpur left his job to start a small-scale business cultivating, harvesting, and dehydrating local flowers such as butterfly pea, rose, hibiscus, marigold, tulsi, jasmine, and chamomile. Utilising solar dryers, he expanded his venture, employing over 100 farmers and offering 15 varieties of dried flowers.

Parmeshwar Thorat from Beed, Maharashtra, turned the challenges of arid conditions and water scarcity into an opportunity by pioneering avocado farming. Despite the initial doubts and harsh environment, his innovative approach has transformed his 1.75-acre farm into a profitable venture, yielding 1,200 kg of avocados in 2023 and enabling him to sell saplings to other farmers.

Pratibha Jha, an entrepreneur from Darbhanga, Bihar, turned a Rs 500 investment into a successful mushroom farming business. With a monthly turnover of Rs 2 lakh, she now trains over 10,000 farmers, empowering them with mushroom cultivation skills.

Mantaj Sidhu quit his high-paying Google job in Ireland to start Gill Organics, a venture that lets urban families temporarily own a patch of land where fresh, organic food is grown for them. Here’s how he is bridging the gap in demand and supply of chemical-free produce.

Chef Radhika Khandelwal’s dishes tell a story of roots, resilience, and reinvention. At Delhi’s Trouble Trouble at Fig & Maple, wild indigenous produce meets contemporary imagination.

From tech professionals to traditional farmers, meet five individuals who turned their passion for flowers into thriving floriculture businesses, earning profits and transforming lives.

Take a walk down a lane in Tarluwada village near Visakhapatnam. At first glance, it may seem like any other orchard. But hidden among these trees is an astonishing secret: a mango fruit that can endure frost, and travel oceans.