The impacts of tobacco cultivation on traditional agro-practices and knowledge, food security, agro-biodiversity and socio-economic conditions of a remote hilly tribal community of Bangladesh were investigated. Sixty per cent households were found practicing shifting cultivation compared with 10 yrs back changing local food availability. Local crop varieties were being lost due to low cultivation and weak seed preservation system. Despite better benefits from traditional cultivation, 90% people now fully depended upon tobacco cultivation for significant cash flow at a time.

Our ability to manage gene flow within traditional agroecosystems and their repercussions requires understanding the biology of crops, including farming practices' role in crop ecology. That these practices' effects on crop population genetics have not been quantified bespeaks lack of an appropriate analytical framework. We use a model that construes seed-management practices as part of a crop's demography to describe the dynamics of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) in Cauca, Colombia.

For centuries, traditional agricultural systems have contributed to food and livelihood security throughout the world. Recognizing the

In the drier areas of southern Africa, farmers experience drought once every two to three years. Relief agencies have traditionally responded to the resulting famines by providing farmers with enough seed and inorganic fertilizer to enable them to re-establish their cropping enterprises. However, because of the lack of appropriate land and crop management interventions, vulnerable farmers are not necessarily able to translate these relief investments in seeds and fertilizer into sustained gains in
productivity and incomes.

The combined effects of climate change, energy scarcity, and water paucity require that we radically rethink our agricultural systems. Countries can and must reorient their agricultural systems toward modes of production that are not only highly productive, but also highly sustainable. Following the 2008 global food price crisis, many developing countries have adopted new food security policies and have made significant investments in their agricultural systems. Global hunger is also back on top of the international agenda.

Only when farming is based upon "natural principles" can it be truly sustainable. Ecological farming is based on nurturing and nourishing the soils. Emphasizing soil conservation and building up organic matter are key to maintain these natural ecological balances in crop ecosystems. Mojo plantation is one such attempt.

Farming like any profession requires dedication, understanding, constant learning and application of new ideas and above all a desire to view it as a part of the greater ecosystem. Here is a case of a young farmer who has nurtured his farm with utmost care and sensitivity to the environment.

Jason Clay identifies eight steps that, taken together, could enable farming to feed 10 billion people and keep Earth habitable.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v475/n7356/full/475287a.html