Soil, water and crop care
The basics every farm depends on — living soil, sensible tillage, crop rotation, pest control and fertilizer.
What is regenerative agriculture?
A short explainer on farming that rebuilds the soil instead of wearing it out — keeping the ground covered, disturbing it less, growing a mix of crops and bringing back animals. Many of these ideas are close to India's own traditional and natural farming practices.
How regenerative agriculture brings life back to the land
A North Dakota farmer tells how he cut his use of fertilizer and chemicals after years of crop failures, by focusing on soil life. A practical talk from a working farmer rather than a scientist.
Conventional tillage and no-till compared
A simple field demonstration of what years of ploughing do to soil structure compared with no-till. No-till leaves crop residue on the surface, which holds water and reduces erosion — the same idea behind happy seeders that help stop stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana.
Why do farmers rotate crops?
Growing the same crop on the same land year after year builds up pests and drains the same nutrients. Rotation — for example following a cereal with a pulse that fixes nitrogen — breaks that cycle. A clear, short lesson.
Integrated pest management for sustainable agriculture
An Indian programme film on IPM: watching the field, using traps, natural enemies and resistant varieties first, and spraying chemicals only when really needed. IPM saves money for the farmer and keeps residues down for export crops.
Nitrogen fertilizer — where does it come from?
One of the world's largest fertilizer makers explains how nitrogen from the air is turned into ammonia and then into fertilizers like urea. India is one of the largest users of urea in the world, so this is a key part of the farm input story.
World farming techniques
How farmers in Israel, the Netherlands, the United States, Australia and Brazil grow more with less water, land and labour.
Seven Israeli agriculture technologies
Israel farms a largely desert country and became a leader in water-saving technology. This short film covers ideas such as drip irrigation, reuse of treated water and new crop varieties — several of which are now used by Indian farmers.
Avocado in Israel: drip irrigation at work
Netafim, the Israeli company known for pioneering modern drip irrigation, shows drip on an avocado orchard. Drip gives water and fertilizer straight to the roots, often saving a large share of water compared with flooding the field.
How one tiny country rivals American farming
The Netherlands is a small country but one of the world's largest exporters of farm produce by value. This film explains how — glasshouses, high yields per square metre, strong research and tight links between farmers, universities and companies.
Inside Europe's biggest greenhouse
A look inside a very large high-tech greenhouse with controlled light, heat, water and nutrients. Useful for anyone in India thinking about polyhouses on a bigger scale, and for understanding why such farms need a lot of energy.
Modern Marvels: harvesting technology
A full episode on the machines that bring in the world's crops — combines, cotton pickers, fruit harvesters and more — and how mechanisation changed farming. Good background as India's own farm mechanisation grows.
1976: Texas to Canada — 2,000 miles of harvest
A classic BBC documentary following custom harvesting crews who move north with their combines as the wheat ripens. A piece of farming history, and an early look at the hired-harvester model that is now common in Punjab and other Indian wheat states.
How cotton is harvested in Australia
Australia grows cotton with high yields and has worked hard to use less water per bale. This film shows mechanical picking and the water-saving methods behind it — a useful comparison for India, the world's largest cotton grower by area.
How Brazil dominates sugar production
Brazil is the world's largest sugar producer and exporter, and India is its main rival. The film explains how Brazil's mills switch between sugar and ethanol — the same flexibility India's ethanol blending programme is now building.
Greenhouse, vertical and soil-less farming
Growing crops under cover, indoors or without soil — the promise and the real problems.
Growing up: how vertical farming works
Vertical farms grow leafy greens in stacked layers indoors under LED light, close to the city. This film explains the idea, the technology and where it makes sense.
Are indoor vertical farms the future of agriculture?
A founder of an indoor farming company makes the case for vertical farms: less water, no pesticides and year-round supply. Worth watching together with the next video, which looks at why many such farms have struggled.
Why many vertical farms failed
A balanced look at the money side: high electricity and building costs, and a narrow range of crops that pay. Important for any Indian investor before putting money into indoor farming.
All about hydroponics
A short Indian explainer on hydroponics — growing plants in water with dissolved nutrients instead of soil — and why it has caught on in Indian cities for greens, herbs and exotic vegetables.
Why polyhouse farming fails in India (Hindi)
A Hindi discussion of the common reasons polyhouse projects run into losses — high set-up cost, wrong crop choice, disease and weak marketing. Useful advice for any farmer planning a polyhouse with a subsidy.
Smart and precision farming
Satellites, sensors, drones and data — farming each part of a field according to its need.
What is precision agriculture?
Precision farming means measuring how soil, water and crop growth vary inside a field and applying seed, water and fertilizer accordingly, using GPS, satellite images and sensors. A clear introduction.
The smart farm revolution: AI meets agriculture
How artificial intelligence, cameras and robots are starting to spot weeds, disease and ripe crops. A short news report on where the technology stands today.
Drones, robots and the future of farming
A full documentary from Germany's public broadcaster on high-tech farming in Europe — drones, field robots, data-driven livestock farming — and the questions it raises for small farmers.
Kisan drone explained
An Indian drone maker explains its spraying drone for farms. The Government of India has promoted 'Kisan drones' for spraying pesticides and nutrients, including through women's self-help groups under the Namo Drone Didi scheme.
Indian farming methods
Methods Indian farmers are using to cut costs and raise yields — from SRI and natural farming to drip and polyhouses.
System of Rice Intensification: producing more with less
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization explains SRI: transplanting young seedlings singly and widely spaced, keeping the field moist rather than flooded, and adding organic matter. SRI has been tried widely in Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Bihar and other states.
Zero budget natural farming: interview with Subhash Palekar
An interview with Subhash Palekar, the Maharashtra agriculturist behind 'zero budget natural farming', which uses cow dung and urine preparations such as jeevamrut instead of bought fertilizer. Andhra Pradesh has taken up natural farming on a large scale.
A family farmer's 10-acre organic farm
A visit to an Indian family farm run on organic methods and traditional knowledge, showing how a mix of crops, trees and animals supports the household.
Why an engineer left his job for an organic farm in Mysore
The story of a professional who turned to organic farming near Mysuru, Karnataka — what he grows, how he sells and what he learned. One of many such stories from India's growing organic sector.
How a drip irrigation system works
Jain Irrigation of Jalgaon, Maharashtra, one of India's best-known drip companies, shows the layout of a drip system in a short animation: pump, filter, main and sub-main pipes, laterals and drippers.
How to set up low-cost drip irrigation (Hindi)
A Hindi video for farmers on putting in drip irrigation at low cost. Drip in India is supported by central and state subsidies under the 'Per Drop More Crop' scheme.
Coloured capsicum in a polyhouse
A long farm visit on growing coloured capsicum under a polyhouse in India — one of the crops that can pay for the high cost of protected cultivation when grown and sold well.
From field to factory: India's big crops
How rice, cotton, sugarcane, tea, coffee and spices are grown and turned into the products we buy.
Rice farming from seed to harvest
The full rice cycle — nursery, transplanting, water management, harvest and drying. India is one of the world's two largest rice producers and the largest rice exporter.
How cotton is grown and harvested
One of the world's largest cotton traders shows the crop from sowing to picking. In India most cotton is still picked by hand, mainly in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana.
How cotton is processed
From the 'How It's Made' series: ginning separates lint from seed, then the lint is cleaned, pressed into bales and spun. Cottonseed goes on to oil mills and cattle feed — both big trades in India.
How sugar is made
Inside a sugar mill: cane is crushed, the juice is cleaned and boiled, and sugar crystals are separated from molasses. India's mills, mostly in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, also turn molasses and juice into ethanol.
How tea is made
Withering, rolling, oxidising and drying the leaf — the steps that turn fresh leaf into black tea. India is the world's second-largest tea producer, with Assam and West Bengal the biggest growers.
The tea industry in Assam
A short film from Assam's tea gardens, from plucking to the factory. Assam produces roughly half of India's tea.
Modern Marvels: how coffee is made
A full episode on coffee from farm to cup — growing, processing, roasting and brewing. India grows both arabica and robusta, mostly in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and exports much of it.
Why green cardamom is so expensive
Cardamom is hand-picked and needs careful drying. The film shows why it is one of the costliest spices. India's cardamom comes mainly from the Idukki hills of Kerala and is sold through e-auctions.
Nutmeg and mace from an Indian village
A look at how farmers in an Indian village grow and process nutmeg and mace, which come from the same fruit. A good example of a high-value spice grown in Kerala.
After the harvest: storage and markets
What happens after the crop leaves the field — cold storage, mandis, e-NAM and farmer producer organisations.
Potato storage in India
India's central potato research institute explains how potatoes are stored — in cold stores and by traditional methods — to keep them sound for months. Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal hold most of India's cold storage for potato.
How cold stores keep potatoes from rotting (Hindi)
A Hindi visit inside a potato cold store: temperature, humidity, stacking and the business between farmers, store owners and traders.
e-NAM: the national online farm market
The Government of India's film on e-NAM, the electronic national agriculture market that links mandis online so buyers in other places can bid for a farmer's produce.
What is the APMC, and what are its problems?
An explainer on the Agricultural Produce Market Committee system that runs India's regulated mandis — commission agents, market fees and the long debate on reform.
How FPOs can help small farmers
Farmer Producer Organisations let small farmers buy inputs and sell produce together, with more bargaining power. The government set a target of 10,000 new FPOs. This video explains how they work.