Agriculture

From small farms and forgotten hillsides to solar dryers and 100-sq-ft grow rooms, Indians across the country reshaped agriculture in 2025. These 10 stories capture the ideas, care and courage that made farming more profitable and human-centred.

Maharashtra-based expert farmer Savita Sunil Dakle shares practical tips to protect soil health during winter. From boosting microbial activity and preventing compaction to managing pH, controlling erosion, and retaining moisture, these solutions address key challenges faced by Indian farmers.

Pratibha Bondia Kheria started Pearl Mithila Makhana in Darbhanga, Bihar, to ensure makhana farmers are getting a justified price for the makhana they source.

A pocket-sized soil testing device, NutriSens is giving farmers real-time insights, cutting fertiliser misuse, empowering rural women entrepreneurs, and putting scientific soil health data in every farmer’s hands.

Through the Bio Village 2.0 initiative, Daspara, in Tripura, has become a model for rural sustainable practices and renewable energy consumption. With better agricultural productivity, cleaner energy solutions, and a focus on community-driven development, Daspara is paving the way for a greener, more prosperous future for Indian villages.

Co-founded by UP’s Shailendra Tiwari and Ananda Verma, Fasal’s precision farming innovation is helping farmers cut costs, boost yields, and save billions of litres of water.

Once struggling to make ends meet, Rashmi Durvey from Senguda village in Madhya Pradesh is now empowering thousands of farmers through PRADAN. With sustainable farming and self-help groups, she is proving how women can drive lasting change in rural India.

In Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh, farmers sell everything from neem leaves and seeds to soil and stones used in medicines — a market unlike any other in India.

From slash-and-burn slopes to a thriving green sanctuary, Dharana at Shillim shows how one family’s decades-long eco-restoration is blending science, tradition, and community for a sustainable future.

In Maharashtra’s Vidarbha, fly ash had turned fertile lands into grey, lifeless zones. But one scientist is leading a revolution using bamboo and eco-rejuvenation science to bring them back to life. This green transformation is not just saving the soil—it’s creating clean air, jobs, and fresh hope.