49 stories
EthiopiaA high-value crop with export markets and new jobs; roots that hold the hillside and shade that stores carbon; a role for women and the young — and the Chittagong Hill Tracts, where the conditions are already right.
FisheriesRich in protein, omega-3, calcium and vitamin D and prized for its taste: the season, the pond, the water, stocking at 400–500 a decimal, feeding from microfeed to supplements, disease prevention and sale.
OthersThirteen to fifteen per cent of GDP, 40–45 per cent of jobs, the country's food, its jute, tea and leather exports and its industries' raw materials: the sector's contribution, its challenges and what a sustainable future needs.
AgrotechSeed in straight rows at a set rate, in half the time and with 30 per cent less labour: what the drum seeder does, why it saves seed, fertiliser and water, and why a smallholder should own one.
OthersAvailability, access, utilisation and stability — the four pillars; a country self-sufficient in rice yet short of nutrition; the strain of population, climate, land and distribution; and what would make the food supply secure.
CropsBamboo sticks four to five feet tall, ten to fifteen metres apart, a crossbar on top — and drongos, mynas and egrets do the rest, eating the stem borers and caterpillars of the rice field. Pest control at almost no cost.
Ethiopia18–24 °C, shade and 600–1,200 m of altitude — from seed to nursery to harvest, the whole coffee-growing process; the world's leading producers; and why the Chittagong Hill Tracts could join them.
AgrotechHand, knapsack or power sprayer, the right nozzle, morning or evening, the right dose, even coverage and cleaning after use: how the right spraying kit protects the trees and raises the harvest.
OthersBoro seedbeds and land, winter vegetables, wheat and maize, pulses and mustard, potato, the pond and the cattle shed: the January to-do list for the Bangladeshi farm.
Daily lifeOmega-3 in hilsa, vitamin D in rui, vitamin A in catla, calcium in puti, iron in magur, strength in shing: eleven of the country's fish and what each one does for the body.
FlowersPowdery mildew, leaf spot, grey mould and aphids: how to recognise each, and the spacing, mulching, watering, baking-soda and soap sprays and fungicides that keep the crop clean.
OrganicNo chemicals, no synthetic inputs: pond siting, water at pH 6.5–8.5, natural food from organic manure, layered polyculture of rui, catla and mrigal, neem, garlic and turmeric for health — and the premium the market pays.
OrganicDung, poultry litter, straw, vegetable peel and fallen leaves turned into compost and vermicompost: the benefits, the materials, the steps, and what it does for the soil and the farmer's costs.
