Andhra Pradesh

a group of women sitting in a circle on the ground--loan counselling
March 14, 2024
Money wise: How rural women benefit from loan advice

In 1992 I joined Ananthasakthi, a mutually aided thrift cooperative society promoted by the Timbaktu Collective in Sri Sathya Sai district (formerly Anantapur). I joined as a village-level sangha (group)…

Men and women workers digging the ground at a nrega worksite_National Mobile Monitoring System
March 29, 2023
Rural India’s new NREGA problem

In May 2021, the Government of India introduced a new monitoring system for MGNREGA—the country’s flagship employment guarantee scheme. Called the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS), it requires that the…

oxen ploughing a field--fallow lands
March 9, 2023
Fertile vs fallow land: What are farmers in Andhra Pradesh choosing?

We are beginning to see some interesting trends play out in Andhra Pradesh—fallow lands are being cultivated while fertile lands are being left fallow. There are two reasons for this…

Adivasi cashew farmers standing with their produce
December 14, 2022
Adivasi farmers reap dividends of cashew FPO

For years the middleman was whisking away profits from us—the small and marginal cashew-nut farmers of the Koya tribe in Buttayaguden, Andhra Pradesh. In 2020, I set up a company…

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September 1, 2022
A dry harvest: Chittoor’s mango farmers struggle with reduced yield

In Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district, unseasonal rainfall from November 2021 to May 2022 resulted in a significant drop in mango yield. “I’ve never had such a poor yield,” said N…

Women walking up a hill with metal pots-water scarcity
November 16, 2021
The walk for water: Scarcity forces women to go the extra mile

Vantimamidi is a small village near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Situated along the Eastern Ghats, the village is at an elevation of 792 metres. Despite being surrounded by streams, Vantimamidi…

People standing in line getting their temperature checked by a person wearing a PPE kit-response to COVID-19 second wave
June 1, 2021
India’s COVID-19 response limited by strong urban and tech bias
India's response to the second wave of COVID-19 glosses over the lack of infrastructure and technology know-how in rural India.

The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic buckled the country for many weeks. We may have passe the peak, but are still struggling with rising infection rates in many parts…

Ducks in a paddy field-duck farming
May 4, 2021
Ducks by the dozen

On a hot sunny day, I was travelling for work across the lush green paddy fields of East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, when I suddenly noticed three people trying to…

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