Farm parent and youth aspirations on the generational succession of farming: Evidence from South India

Agriculture remains vital in ensuring the food security of developing economies like India, yet increasing rural-urban migration, an aging farm population, and waning interest of rural youth in agriculture are emerging concerns. This paper focuses on the aspirations of farm parents and their children in agriculture, the challenges they confront, and potential solutions. We draw on qualitative data from two rural sites in Southern India, different from each other in their agro-ecological and social contexts, to point to the material, social, relational, and structural factors shaping aspirations. First, agrarian distress, resulting from climate variability and market uncertainty, affects farm households' socioeconomic status, resulting in farmers' aspiration failure in agriculture. Farm parents then focus on educating their children, aspiring for secure non-farm jobs for their sons, and finding suitable marriage partners, also in non-farm employment, for their daughters. While this steer from parents discourages youth from aspiring to careers in agriculture, in reality, there is a wide gap in the achievement of aspirations, and a majority of youth, especially young women, do end up working on their family farms. For the future development of agriculture and sustainable food systems, it is essential to protect young farmers from aspiration failures and innovate through appropriate policies

Influence of spatial arrangement, biofertilizers and bioirrigation on the performance of legume-millet intercropping system in rainfed areas of southern India

In this study, we checked the potential of bioirrigation – defined as a process of hydraulic lift where transfer of water occurs from deep soil layers to top soil layers through plant roots. We tested this in a pigeon pea (PP) – finger millet (FM) intercropping system in a field study for two consecutive growing seasons (2016/17 and 2017/18) at two contrasting sites in Bengaluru and Kolli Hills, India. Our objective was also to optimize the spatial arrangement of the intercropped plants (2 PP:8 FM), using either a row-wise or a mosaic design. The field trial results clearly showed that spatial arrangement of component plants affected the yield in an intercropping system. The row-wise intercropping was more effective than mosaic treatments at the Bengaluru field site, while at Kolli Hills, both row-wise and mosaic treatment performed equally. Importantly, biofertilizer application enhanced the yield of intercropping and monoculture treatments. This effect was not influenced by the spatial arrangement of component plants and by the location of the field experiment. The yield advantage in intercropping was mainly due to the release of PP from interspecific competition. Despite a yield increase in intercropping treatments, we did not see a positive effect of intercropping or biofertilizer on water relations of FM, this further explains why PP dominated the competitive interaction, which resulted in yield advantage in intercropping. FM in intercropping had significantly lower leaf water potentials than in monoculture, likely due to strong interspecific competition for soil moisture in intercropping treatments. Our study indicates that identity plant species and spatial arrangement/density of neighbouring plant is essential for designing a bioirrigation based intercropping system

Equity, gender and millets in India:Implications for policy

Millets and other neglected and underutilized species (NUS), often viewed as women’s crops, central to household food and nutrition security, are attributed a low social status. In this chapter, we explore issues of social equity, in particular gender equality, in relation to the production and consumption of millets and other NUS in India. In doing so, we focus on resource access, divisions of labour, and decision-making in the choice of particular crops and, indeed, varieties. Drawing on insights from Koraput district in Odisha and Kolli Hills in Tamil Nadu, we discuss the broader parameters of intersecting inequalities in millet cultivation and consumption. Based on the analysis, we draw out some implications for policy

Ecological stability of genetic diversity among landraces of little millet (Panicum sumatrense) in south India

Risk-prone agriculture by resource-poor tribal farmers in Kolli hills, south India is slowly giving way to commercial exploitation for paltry compensation thus eroding genetic diversity of millets. Cultivation and conservation of millets, particularly, little millet (Panicum sumatrense Roth ex Roem. et Schult.), called samai in the local language, Tamil are on the wane. Whether irregular and sparse cultivation of little millet by tribals has an impact on the current level of genetic divergence is also not clear. Therefore genetic divergence among 7 landraces and 1 check variety was evaluated based on morphometric traits at two sites over two seasons. The seven landraces formed six distinct groups with high inter-group distances. Days to maturity and flowering time contributed the most to genetic differentiation. Principal component analysis confirmed the results of divergence analysis. But a recent molecular analysis of diversity reported that the landraces were all genetically uniform and any observed diversity could be due environmental variation. An analysis of the contradictory results only emphasized the fact that lack of polymorphism need not imply lack of genetic divergence. The findings co evaluated with relevant published work highlight the value of morphometric analysis and reveal sustained genetic divergence in little millet

A needs-based approach to promoting gender equity and inclusivity: Insights from participatory research with farmer-producer organisations (FPOs)

The farmer-producer organisation (FPO) is an umbrella term used to describe modes of farmer collectivisation in India, i.e., Co-operatives and Companies (FPCs). While women cultivators play a central role in agriculture, their continued marginalisation is reflected in a lack of engagement in FPO activities and governance structures, with only 3% of existing FPOs being female-led ventures. This paper examines the nature of tensions around social inequities—and how such tensions might be addressed in the collective spaces offered by FPOs—using a gender lens. Specifically, in balancing conflicting pressures of economic performance versus inclusion and meeting specific members' needs. Using a participatory research approach, a conceptual framework is developed and applied in three FPOs operating at various stages of development. With a specific focus on gender equity and inclusion, selected cases involved FPOs with >75% female membership and scheduled caste/tribe participation. Qualitative data on societal needs, based on the expectations and experiences of FPO participants, is then analysed to better understand (i) what might promote FPO participation and (ii) how equity and inclusion may be enabled from the ‘bottom-up’. This exploratory study informs the collective action debate with its new and intersectional approach to gender equity and inclusivity. Empirical observations and within- case analyses involving FPOs provide new insights into the functioning of these institutions and nuanced interactions involving their members. Findings suggest that informal micro- producer arrangements (MPAs) or vyavastha, in the FPO pre-registration phase, are well positioned to act as spatial agents for establishing ethical norms as FPOs collectivise and grow. In terms of promoting social objectives and evaluating FPOs operating in different stages, a set of guiding principles are proposed with follow-on implications for policy

Flower visitor, pod productivity and pod quality data from Moringa plantations with floral interventions and control

These data include information on flower visitor abundance and species richness (30 different species of bees, flies, butterflies and moths were recorded on the whole), pod productivity (percentage of flowers that set fruit) and pod quality (length, diameter, seed number and weight) of moringa grown under different pollination treatments including pollinator exclusion (no visitation by insects), open pollination (visitation by insects) and supplementary pollination (hand pollinated) in plantations that are used as control, and in plantations with inter and border-cropping as floral interventions. Data were collected for Translating Research Opportunities to enhance Pollination benefits to economically Important Crops And improve Livelihoods (TROPICAL) project

The benefits of floral border crops in smallholder rice production depends on agronomic inputs and landscape context

1. Ecological intensification (EI) provides an important and increasingly adopted pathway for achieving more sustainable agricultural systems. However, the implementation and success of on-farm EI practices may vary depending on landscape context and local management practices. 2. We evaluated how EI interventions, including two different agricultural input regimes (high or low use of synthetic pesticides and fertilisers) and floral border crops, affected local natural enemy biodiversity, pest abundance and crop yield, and how this was influenced by the surrounding landscape context across 12 rice fields on smallholder farms in Puducherry, India. 3. Reducing agricultural inputs positively impacted the overall natural enemy assemblage, however responses to other local and landscape factors varied. For example, coccinellid beetles were negatively correlated with higher densities of field edges (landscape configuration), while spiders, the most abundant group surveyed, were not significantly influenced by any landscape metric. Furthermore, pest abundance was greatest in fields with reduced inputs but only at sites where floral border crops were not present. 4. Mean rice grain yield was lower across low input sites compared to high input sites and floral border crops had opposing effects across high and low input sites. At low input sites, mean yields were 33% higher where floral border crops were present. At high input sites the presence of floral border crops was correlated with a lower mean yield (16%). 5. These findings show that ecological intensification practices can benefit smallholder crop systems but highlight the need to account for variations in landscape context and local management practices for developing effective sustainable management practices

Potential Impacts of Future Climate Changes on Crop Productivity of Cereals and Legumes in Tamil Nadu, India: A Mid-Century Time Slice Approach

Climate change is a terrible global concern and one of the greatest future threats to societal development as a whole. The accelerating pace of climate change is becoming a major challenge for agricultural production and food security everywhere. The present study uses the midcentury climate derived from the ensemble of 29 general circulation models (GCMs) on a spatial grid to quantify the anticipated climate change impacts on rice, maize, black gram, and red gram productivity over Tamil Nadu state in India under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios. The future climate projections show an unequivocal increase of annual maximum temperature varying from 0.9 to 2.2°C for RCP 4.5 and 1.4 to 2.7°C in RCP 8.5 scenario by midcentury, centered around 2055 compared to baseline (1981–2020). The projected rise in minimum temperature ranges from 1.0 to 2.2°C with RCP 4.5 and 1.8 to 2.7°C under RCP 8.5 scenario. Among the monsoons, the southwest monsoon (SWM) is expected to be warmer than the northeast monsoon (NEM). Annual rainfall is predicted to increase up to 20% under RCP 4.5 scenario in two-third of the area over Tamil Nadu. Similarly, RCP 8.5 scenario indicates the possibility of an increase in rainfall in the midcentury with higher magnitude than RCP 4.5. Both SWM and NEM seasons are expected to receive higher rainfall during midcentury under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 than the baseline. In the midcentury, climate change is likely to pose a negative impact on the productivity of rice, maize, black gram, and red gram with both RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios in most places of Tamil Nadu. The magnitude of the decline in yield of all four crops would be more with RCP 8.5 over RCP 4.5 scenario in Tamil Nadu. Future climate projections made through multi-climate model ensemble could increase the plausibility of future climate change impact assessment on crop productivity. The adverse effects of climate change on cereal and legume crop productivity entail the potential adaptation options to ensure food security

Floral interventions enhance flower visitor communities and pollination services in moringa plantations

1. Pollination is a crucial ecosystem service contributing to global food security. Moringa (Moringa oleifera) is an economically important tropical crop, mostly cultivated by smallholder farmers. 2. Well-established approaches of planting flower-rich patches used in temperate agro-ecosystems for pollination enhancement were adapted to tropical moringa systems. Based on existing evidence, we hypothesised that floral interventions would improve flower visitor diversity and abundance in the crop, thereby increasing pollination services and moringa yield and quality. 3. We used standardised methods to survey flower visitors on moringa, and assess economically relevant measures of crop yield quality and quantity. We selected 24 moringa fields in Tamil Nadu, India to compare fields with and without floral interventions. We planted red gram, Cajanus cajon as a border crop, and marigold, Tagetes erecta as an inter-crop on moringa fields to enhance floral resource availability for pollinators. These interventions were co-designed with local farmers to ensure additional benefits to their community. 4. We found that flower visitor abundance and species richness were significantly (50% for abundance and 33% for species richness) greater in fields with floral interventions compared to control fields. We also found that the percentage of flowers that resulted in harvestable fruits were significantly (30%) greater in fields with floral intervention. Production benefits in yield and quality were significantly positively correlated with the abundance and species richness of flower visitors. 5. Synthesis and applications: Our results provide clear evidence that floral interventions in the form of inter-cropping and border-cropping, can enhance pollinator communities and services they provide in tropical smallholder systems. These findings underpin a practical management option for farmers to enhance flower visitor communities and pollination services, which can potentially also provide additional co-benefits to farmers, improving livelihoods and sustainable production