From The Fields : A preview

Today the WEA team and the Delegates are arriving and settling into their hotel in Delhi. They are about 12 hours ahead of California time and so they are hopefully sleeping right now. While we wait to hear from them directly here is a preview of what they’ll be doing and where they’re going in the next two days.

Meet with Dr. Suman Sahai from the Gene Campaign. Gene Campaign, a grassroots organization with a presence in 17 states in India, was started in 1993 by Dr. Suman Sahai (an Ashoka Fellow in 1989) and a group of people concerned about food and livelihood security. Gene Campaign is recognized as a leading research and advocacy organization working in the field of bio-resources, farmers and community rights, intellectual property rights and indigenous knowledge, biopiracy, and issues related with GE food and crops.

Visit Punjab Agriculture University. PAU is considered a big player in the promotion of GE seed, bio-tech and associated “green revolution” technologies. In more recent years it has expanded its emphasis on organic farming. We will visit with Dr. Aulakh who is heading the organic farming department and his wife who is in the Home Science department and who is active with local women’s groups.

Visit Post Harvest Management Training Center. PHM Training Center creates training in basic, applied, strategic and adaptive engineering and technology research in post-harvest sectors of plants, livestock and aquaculture production. In particular interest to us, PHM trains women farmers in processing and value-addition of fruits and vegetables.

This is part of a series entitled From The Fields which follows the Women and Agriculture delegation on their 12 day journey through Northern India. Read more about it here and here.