"Poor Story" has some relevance to farmers in Marathwada too.

Quote from "Poor Story" by Giles Bolton -

Are you European? You're paying to subsidise every cow in the European Union at Euro 2.50 a day (while 300 million Africans live on less than Euro 1 a day). Are you American? In 2005 you spent US$ 4.2 billion subsidising the US cotton industry, which may be more money than the entire value of the cotton it produced (while 10 million African cotton farmers would have seen fewer of their children die from preventable diseases if your taxes hadn't been spent on a few thousand farms in the Midwest). Are you Japanese? You recently spent more than 1 percent of your annual income - at least 600 US$ per household - on rice through a combination of high prices and farmer support (while farmers in countries like Ghana couldn't even sell their produce in local markets, let alone abroad, because of subsidised exports from rich 'competitors'). Something is wrong here.

Findings of the Organic Bazaar Impact in Aurangabad

A Japanese team from Kobe University, Japan, independently evaluated the Organic Bazaar in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. The survey was done over a period of 3 months. The team consisted of two senior professors and one senior researcher. This expert team conducted an independent, unbiased, and detailed assessment. Now, here are the findings that I am excited to share with you -

Findings –
i) For the grain, farmers get 53% higher price in the organic bazaar and the organic link than to conventional markets.

ii) For the leafy vegetables farmers get 118% and the other vegetables 87% higher market price than conventional market .

... and 40% of farmers own less that 2.5 acres of land (considered really small)

Model Appropriate Houses for Small Farmers.

Towards building a model low-cost house in 100,000 INR (US$2300). Two rooms + Kitchen + Toilet/bath, appropriate for the hot weather in central India. Many say it is impossible but some say "Yes, we can." Any comments/ suggestions welcome. Visit Housing Programme in Marathwada

Endosulfan - a Deadly Chemical

Environmental Justice Foundation EJF: Endosulfan - a Deadly Chemical

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Water, how it matters, in Marathwada

In the afternoon heat, women and children are running towards the only source of water located outside sarpanch Achyut Gangane's house. Mr. Gangane has sunk a borewell behind his house which caters to the entire village with a population of 1500. Hindu, Chennai Edition, Oct 5, 2009. Read more...

Drought forced the distress sale of cattle in Maharashtra

Are the current rains sufficient to buy new cattle?