On the occassion of World Food Day, 2018, Environment Support Group is happy to share "A Review of Andhra Pradesh's Climate Resilient Zero Budget Natural Farming Programme", authored by Leo F. Saldanha.

This policy approved by the government on Dec 6, 2018 is aimed at doubling the agricultural exports and integrating Indian farmers and agricultural products with the global value chains.

This paper attempts to quantify the benefits of contract farming (CF) on farmers’ income and investigates the determinants of participation in CF. This is based on a survey of 1,331 farmers from Maharashtra State in India engaged in onion, okra and pomegranate cultivation.

There are three goals of agricultural development in India. These are: (a) achieving high growth by raising productivity; (b) inclusiveness by focusing on lagging regions, small farmers and women; and (c) sustainability of agriculture.

This paper reviews the evidence available on the provision of financing for African smallholder farmers to purchase irrigation equipment such as pumps, pipes and drip irrigation systems. It sets the scene by first reviewing the literature on experiences with providing microcredit and other microfinance services as a poverty reduction strategy.