14.07.2025

Lecture: Debal Deb, "The Food Question in India and China: Navigating Between Agroecology and Industrial Agriculture"

Dr. Debal Deb, the "Seed Warrior", will, on Tue, Jul 22, 18:15, give an online lecture of the food question in China and India

Dr. Debal Deb (Basudha Center for Interdisciplinary Studies)
“The Food Question in India and China: Navigating Between Agroecology and Industrial Agriculture”

Tue, 22 Jul 2025, 18:15, online

Brief. India and China, together home to over a third of the global population, stand at a crossroads in determining the future of their agricultural systems amid rising environmental and social pressures. This talk compares the impacts of industrial agriculture with agroecological approaches, which prioritize species and ecosystem diversity, local knowledge, and the preservation of common resources such as seeds and the revival of local markets. Drawing on current policies, case studies, and intensification models, it examines how the incorporation of agrobiodiversity into the food production system, combined with local community involvement, can influence food system resilience and vulnerability. The presentation argues that agroecology offers a more sustainable and equitable path forward in an era of climate uncertainty and resource scarcity.

“Seed Warrior” Dr. Debal Deb founded Basudha (https://cintdis.org/basudha/), a rice conservation farm in India where he has created a living seed bank of 1,400 rare indigenous varieties. His collection boasts of resiliency, with most varieties withstanding drought and flooding, strong changes of weather and soil, and with multiple cultural and medicinal properties.

zoom.us/j/99574353063;
Meeting-ID: 995 7435 3063, Kenncode: 743669
Contact: Divyaraj Amiya, M.Phil. (divyaraj.amiya@uni-tuebingen.de), and Dr. Ulrich Theobald (ulrich.theobald@uni-tuebingen.de)