Feature Article

An innovative attempt was made to promote the concept of village based seed banks by the International Crops Research Institute for Semi- Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) as an intervention of Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihood Program (APRLP) in Andhra Pradesh state.

Dairy industry generate large amount of white highly turbid liquid waste products which cannot be processed further in the industry and has to be discarded. They contain very high organic matter that may be in dissolved or colloidal form and is thus very high in BOD and total solids.

The rate at which indigenous Rice varieties are getting depleted is extremely alarming. It is becoming increasingly clear that to maintain biodiversity in farmers

Livestock is an important occupation of the farm households in the North-Eastern states. However, a large percentage of animals in this part of the country are of non-descript types; less productive and poorly managed. These poor breeds of animals are the source of meat, milk, curd, ghee and other milk products. It provides subsidiary source of income to the farm families. The yield level of such indigenous non-descript animals are very low, even then these animals are the backbone of the rural economy of N.E. region.

Milk productions in India during 1950-51 was 17 million tonnes which has reached to 78 million tonnes in 1997-98. Presently India ranks first in the world in milk production. The Operation Flood Programme was instrumental in dairy development activities. These programmes are useful in upgrading the standard of living of farmers.

The nature of agricultural diversification differs across regions due to wide heterogeneity in agro climatic and socio-economic conditions. Generally, the pattern of agricultural diversification shows a shift from crop production to livestock production during the 1980s to 1990s.

The Kabartal wetland situated in the upper Indo-Gangetic flood plains in northern India is significant because of its hydrological and ecological services, and the socio-economic and cultural values that it represents. Despite being designated as a wildlife sanctuary, this wetland is under threat from anthropogenic pressures.

We used a semistructured social survey of 590 households in 37 villages along the southern boundary of Kaziranga National Park and World Heritage Site, Assam, India in late 2000 and early 2001 to assess resource use and demographic and socioeconomic conditions.

All public expenditure meant for development of a community can be expected to have some benefits for children as well. However, in a country where children are clearly a disadvantaged section, there exists a strong case for identifying that part of the public expenditure specifically earmarked for addressing their needs. Such an exercise requires segregating those schemes which are specifically meant for addressing the needs of children, and it is this expenditure which is referred to as the magnitude of total Child Budget.

AT the time of independence, India faced the twin problems of acute and chronic undernutrition of its children. This was essentially a result of low dietary intake because of poverty and low purchasing power, high prevalence of infection because of poor access to safe drinking water, sanitation and health care and poor utilization of available facilities due to low literacy and lack of awareness.