Dear All,
A nice piece in memory of Susanne Rudolph who passed away on Dec 23rd.
I also take this opportunity to thank Satendra, Murli and Richa for a very memorable 4th NRAS. It was great to be in Allahabad and reconnect with old and get to know many newer friends.
I had an opportunity to be part of a consultative process on agro-ecology on the 22nd at Hyderabad with the NITI Aayog member Dr VK Saraswat listening into different presentations on SRI, integrated agriculture, CMSA, participatory groundwater etc. The consultation was preceded by a field visit (that I unfortunately could not join). The meeting had a few farmers (many women) from different parts many of whom have been serving as village resource persons enabling a transition in agriculture to more sustainable systems. I think the network might also want to look at these changes in the field through more detailed ethnographic (economic and political too) accounts of “alternative agriculture”. Rajeswari and I had an opportunity to participate in a conference at Hiedelberg a few years back on “ethnographies of alternative agriculture’. It might be useful to explore having such a theme in future NRAS’s too. We heard some accounts from the farmers at Allahabad too. Sharing some preliminary thoughts.
Regards
Shambu
